"Because if they value their talent in some sort of way, then we need to talk. We need to come up with some sort of compromise here."
"This time, being quarantined [amid the coronavirus pandemic] has really made me appreciate a lot of things about my life anyway," Leakes adds. "I keep saying to people, 'I want my life back.' I can't have these girls fighting with me on TV for no reason anymore. I've got to move forward. And if that's all you want from me, I have to move on and I got to go. Me and my wig got to leave, honey."
Her hesitation comes after she faced off with Eva Marcille, Kandi Burruss, and Kenya Moore at the season 12 virtual reunion. During a heated confrontation, Leakes closed her laptop and walked away from taping.
"I'm still human," Leakes told PEOPLE. "It's not okay, sitting and being attacked over and over by the same people about nothing. It stresses me out. I am sensitive, I am. If that's all these girls have the time to do, then production needs to get some new people on the show. Because why are you guys still focused on me over here? Why do you bother me like this? Leave me alone, child. Let me just be over here by myself. Why do you bother me like this? It doesn't make sense. Why do they argue with me every time they see me?"
"You want to see if you can break me or not? You want the throne? It's not going to happen. They ain't going to be able to have it. It's not going to be able to work. It's impossible, honey," Leakes says. "So I would just say we cut it out. It's too much work."
Leakes has left the show before, stepping away in season 8 to focus on other television projects. While she later made several guest appearances that year, she skipped season 9 before returning in season 10 as a full-time Housewife.
Photo Credit: Bravo, Instagram
