NeNe Leakes has broken her silence after her oldest son Bryson Bryant was arrested for felony possession of fentanyl earlier this month. According to the former Real Housewives of Atlanta star, Bryant, who’s had numerous run-ins with the law before his most recent incident, is struggling with “addiction.”
While speaking on former Housewives producer Carlos King’s Reality with the King podcast, Leakes revealed that she spoke on the phone with Bryant, whom she shares with ex-boyfriend Calvin Bryant, and said he is doing “OK” since being detained on July 3. As of now, he remains behind bars at the Gwinnett County Jail in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
According to docs obtained by People, authorities allegedly found Bryant in a car with “a small plastic bag that contained a white powdery substance” that later “provided a presumptive positive for Fentanyl” when it was tested.
“He needs rehabilitation,” Leakes said. “He needs a lot of counseling. Like many families out there, I have family members that are struggling with drugs and certain addictions. He has an addiction. He’s been struggling with it for years. He’s been in rehab for a couple of times and he still has come back out and relapsed.”
However, when it comes to helping him, Leakes — who previously refused to bail him out of one of his many arrests in a Season 5 episode of RHOA — told King that her “hands are tied.”
“He is [33] years old, he’s an adult. He has three children — three beautiful children — who I adore. He has a wife,” she said. “[There’s] not much that I can do. For people who have had children or family members that have been on drugs, they know that they have to be ready. They have to simply be ready.”
Aside from allegedly possessing the Schedule II-controlled substance, Bryant was also charged with a violation of probation, loitering/prowling, and giving a false name, address or birthdate to a law enforcement officer. According to police, Bryant lied and said he was his younger brother, Brentt Leakes — whom his mother shares with her late husband, Gregg Leakes. He also reportedly gave officers the address to a home Leakes sold years ago.
While she said she’s tried to get him the help he needs, she acknowledged that he needs to want the help himself.
“I’ve spent so much money on trying to get Bryson where he needs to be,” she said. “But every time I’ve sent him off is because I said, ‘You are getting your ass up and we are sending you off.’ But I learned through counseling myself that he has to say, ‘I’m ready to go,’ not me making him go. So until Bryson is ready to make a change, there’s nothing I can do.”
Leakes added, “As a mother, I would never wash my hands of my child, right? But, I’m kind of numb to it because it’s been happening for so many years. I’m just really kind of numb to the situation.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.