Nene Leakes Interview On 'The Real Housewives Of Atlanta,' Anderson Cooper, Catfights With Kim And Sharee

I’ve always been popular. All of my life. Viewers like and can relate to me because I was truthful. Everyone can relate to me–I know that’s a fact because when I go out in public everyone comes up to me–“Girl! Nene!” I guess I came across as being real.

I’m obsessed with him, honey. I would ask him out even while I’m married! I’ve already told my husband, if I see Anderson, honey, it’s over! You know, he’s real good lookin’! There's something about the way he looks when he's reporting the news. He reports the news with a twinkle in his eyes. Something about it him is just like, ‘Stop it, Anderson! Whatever it is your doin', Stop!’ I like him a lot!

I think the reason why I was so upset with Kim and Sheree was because I am a very loyal person. When I find out someone is not being loyal, it drives me insane. If you and I are friends, you and I are friends. And nobody else can step in and tell me that you said anything. For it to go down the way that it did I kept thinking to myself, we must not be friends. I helped these girls get on this show. How dare they stab me in the back like that?

No, actually I don’t. Time heals everything. I’m a really forgiving person, but we can’t go back to being friends. I’m very guarded after something like this happens, you cannot get that close to me again. In fact, Kim has called me several times and we’ve talked.

I would get the show in the mail three or four days before the viewers would see it. I would have time to process it. I would know it would be coming out and know I could go out into the world and know what’s going on. Every time I looked at that tape and saw Kim saying something that was a lie, it drove me insane. I could never see her anywhere where I could talk to her about it. It took all season long, but I finally got to talk to Kim at the reunion show. The moment I was walking into the building to get ready for the reunion show, I was saying to myself, I’m going to get Kim. I walked in with guns loaded. The night before I started to think about all the lies, and I was writing them down. I was getting madder and madder. I was walking in there with guns loaded.

I didn’t feel like it was hard. The hardest part was opening up the envelope with the results. The process was very easy for me. When I said I was going to call Curtis, I just picked up the phone and called him. He picked up the phone and talked. He wasn’t being particularly kind. It’s more like reality was sinking in. I was finally going to find out if all these whispers I’ve heard all my life are actually true. I had two boys who always thought of him as their grandpa, and I just always wanted to do it.

I knew them all except for Lisa. I actually referred them to the show. I knew Sheree for seven years. I knew Kim for five years. Deshawn and I had known each other very briefly though.

Some people don’t know that about me. For instance, we were at a sex toy party, and I’m very shy about things like that. Some people said I was dancer, I made a joke about it since everybody knows I’m shy about things like that. Sex–I’m very shy about that stuff. When I met my husband, and I was attracted to him, I’m very shy about that stuff.

Having a boutique hotel is a dream of mine. When I first started talking about it, I thought I could go out and get me an empty space and make a hotel. I learned that there’s a lot of stuff, a lot of stuff I need go through–the health department, investors–all that stuff! I needed to be educated. I need someone to mentor me. I met a girl and her husband owns some hotels, and she said he would be happy to come on the second season and mentor me a bit about the whole hotel industry.

My real name is Linnethia. Before I got to school, my aunts, everyone called me Nene. When I was in school when they would call roll, before they got to my name they would just stop. They would just stop and say, 'I can’t pronounce it.' So Nene has followed me all my life, so I think I’m actually going to change my name to it.