Proof That Reality TV Is Stranger Than Fiction

Donald Trump is currently President of the United States (again), there was a time when his claim to fame was largely reality TV. He launched The Apprentice in 2004, a boardroom-style competition series that quickly became a cultural phenomenon, and helped cement Trump as a primetime fixture on television. At one point, he was reportedly demanding $6 million an episode to host the show – equivalent to the Friends cast’s combined salary. The success of The Apprentice helped him build an estimated net worth of $4 billion as of 2025.

Over the years, Trump made smaller reality TV appearances to boost his notoriety and promote his franchise – including a surprising cameo on Bravo’s I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding, where he offered prenup advice to the titular star, NeNe Leakes. This moment led to one of the most surreal cameos in Bravo history. The scene was filmed in the boardroom at Trump Towers. NeNe Leakes was there to ask Donald Trump about her upcoming second marriage to Gregg Leakes. However, before they got into the conversation, Trump was keen to talk about his upcoming project and invited NeNe to be one of the judges at his Miss Universe and Miss US contest that he was putting on in Las Vegas. An excited NeNe agreed, and the conversation moved on to her marriage.

Sign the Prenup or Your Fired

Sitting opposite each other around the famous boardroom table, Leakes got straight to the point. “So, I’m getting re-married”, NeNe explained. “Congratulations”, said Trump. “I think I read that you were married previously to the same man”? “Yes, and one of the things I learned when I worked with you on Celebrity Apprentice is that everything is negotiable. I want to sign a pre-nup’” said Leakes. Trump quickly asked. “Does he have money?” “He does, but”, Trump responded, “But you have more money?” “I do.” said Leakes. “Was that a friendly divorce would you say?” asked Trump. “It was not,” replied Leakes. “It was hostile?” said Trump. “It was?” she replied.

Trump now explains what needs to be done. “Listen NeNe over the years I’ve seen many, many fights. The most vicious fights usually are between a man and a woman that were in love. It’s the least romantic document; there’s nothing beautiful about it. I think you have no choice but to get it, and if he won’t sign it”. Leakes answers with “Then we won’t have a wedding.” Trump says, “Get one!.” The scene ends on that note, and we now see Leakes talking to the show’s producer about the meeting. “Trump doesn’t play it’s like this; you sign the prenup or your fired.”

Trump’s Cameo on I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding

Bravo’s I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding was a short-lived series featuring just seven episodes, which aired in 2013. It starred Real Housewives of Atlanta icon NeNe Leakes, who, at the time, was arguably at the height of her reality TV fame. The show followed NeNe as she planned her second wedding to Gregg Leakes. The couple originally married in 1997, but after 14 years of marriage the couple divorced in 2011. However, they reconciled shortly after, and remarried in June 2014 – this time, in front of Bravo’s cameras. Gregg later passes away from colon cancer in 2021.

Fans had been rooting for the couple for years, so watching them exchange vows post-divorce was satisfying, to say the least. The reality series leaned into the audience’s emotional wedding, mixing heartfelt moments with wedding planning stress and a variety of celebrity cameos – one of the most surprising being Trump.

Trump’s cameo came in Episode 2, when NeNe sat down with him to ask whether she should get a prenuptial agreement. At the time, NeNe was reportedly worth around $14 million, thanks largely to her popularity on The Real Housewives, where she earned an estimated $1 million per season (making her one of the highest-paid cast members ever).

For his part, Gregg, a successful real estate investor and TV personality, had a reported net worth of $4 million. Their fortunes had grown significantly since their first wedding in the ’90s, so NeNe wanted advice on protecting her assets in case things didn’t work out again.

Trump’s Cameo Seems Random, But it Makes a Lot of Sense

At first glance, the crossover may seem odd – Trump’s show was on NBC, while NeNe was with Bravo, and they didn’t appear to be close friends. But the cameo wasn’t completely random. NeNe had competed on Season 11 of Celebrity Apprentice in 2011, where she got to know Trump. She exited the show mid-season after a conflict with Star Jones, but she seemed to maintain a friendly professional relationship with Trump afterward. And that’s what likely paved the way for his Bravo appearance. In interviews following Celebrity Apprentice, NeNe described Trump as respectful and “true to who he is,” suggesting there was no bad blood.

“When I went on the show I thought he was very nice and true to what he was,” she said during a reunion appearance on Chelsea. “I thought his kids were so nice and so humble.”

Even after Trump announced his first presidential run, NeNe defended him as a person, despite not aligning politically. “He probably would make a good president,” she said on Watch What Happens Live ahead of the 2016 election. “I’m not voting for Donald, but I like Donald as a person and I think that he’s gonna be good. He’s gonna be tough to beat.”

She echoed a similar sentiment in 2017 and referred to his cameo on her show directly, saying, “So many people asked me about him because I worked with him, and then I got married again and he did a little scene with me on my show. I have to say, when I worked for Donald, he and I got along very well. He was very true to who he was.”

Their shared reality TV past – and hence the Bravo cameo – seems to have developed out of mutual respect and a shared sense of strategy in the entertainment industry. NeNe could’ve easily called Trump in private to ask for prenup advice. And she likely had a lot of other people (like lawyers) she could’ve turned to instead of him. But staging the conversation for the cameras adds buzz for both parties and their shows. It was a classic reality TV move – by blurring the lines between real life and television, they gain maximum attention. The cameo was a one-time event. Trump never returned to I Dream of NeNe or any other Real Housewives show. It seems Trump and NeNe’s public relationship has also faded.

By 2020, Nene was openly criticizing Trump for his behavior, calling him “silly” – a likely sign that whatever goodwill remained from her Apprentice days was likely a relic of the past.

Trump’s appearance on I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding is one of the most unexpected intersections between politics, pop culture, and reality TV. It’s a strange footnote in both Trump and Nene’s careers. These days, the idea of Trump popping up on any reality show, let alone a Bravo one, seems nearly impossible. Trump said goodbye to reality TV before transitioning into politics, with The Apprentice officially ending in 2016 after Arnold Schwarzenegger tried taking over hosting for a short time. But at least surreal moments like Trump’s Bravo crossover will live on forever in our memories, or should we say, the Internet.