NeNe Leakes Breaks Silence on Son Bryson's Arrest: 'He Has an Addiction, There's Nothing I Can Do' (Exclusive)

NeNe Leakes is speaking out for the first time about her son Bryson Rashard Bryant's latest run-in with the law.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum, 55, sat down with former Housewives producer and friend Carlos King for a wide-ranging, two-part interview set to debut this week on his Reality with the King podcast.

PEOPLE has an exclusive preview of the episode, in which King, 43, asks Leakes about Bryson's arrest earlier this month. The 33-year-old — whom Leakes shares with ex-Calvin Bryant — remains behind bars at Gwinnett County Jail on a $6,100 bond after being arrested on July 3 in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He's facing multiple charges, including violation of probation in two cases, possession of a scheduled II controlled substance, loitering/prowling and giving a false name, address or birthdate.

Asked how Bryson was doing, Leakes tells King, "I spoke to him on the phone, I think he's doing OK."

Related: NeNe Leakes' Son Bryson Bryant Arrested on Charges of Felony Drug Possession, Probation Violation

Leakes acknowledges that Bryson has an ongoing issue with drugs. He was arrested, according to an incident report from the Gwinnett County Police Department obtained by PEOPLE, after authorities found him in car with "a small plastic bag that contained a white powdery substance." When field-tested, the substance "provided a presumptive positive for Fentanyl," police allege.

"He needs rehabilitation," Leakes says. "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."

Leakes also explains that, even though it's been a frustrating path to where she is now, she's learned there's nothing she can do to help Bryson until he's ready to help himself.

"As a mom just to watch it, my hands are tied," she says. "[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."

"I’ve spent so much money on trying to get Bryson where he needs to be," she adds. "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."

Over the years, Leakes had turned desensitized to Bryson's issues, she admits. "He is [33] years old, he’s an adult. He has three children — three beautiful children — who I adore. He has a wife. 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."

Bryson is the older of Leakes' two children — she shared younger son Brentt Leakes with late husband Gregg Leakes, who died in September 2021.

According to police, during his arrest on July 3 , Bryson initially identified himself to authorities as Brentt. Bryson reportedly also listed a former address of NeNe's as his current address. Police hadn't learned about Bryson's real identity until after his arrest, the incident report stated.

Both boys were regularly featured on RHOA during their mother's 10 years on the hit Bravo series. When asked by King if the exposure to the reality TV cameras contributed to his drug use, NeNe replies, "I don't think it helped."

"I wouldn't say that the sole cause of it, [but] it certainly didn't help because we started on television when Bryson was like in the 11th or 12th grade and Brent was in third grade. And, so they're, they're having to be in a light shine, a light shine on them that they did not ask for," she notes. "People are picking them apart because of the job that I chose to do. And so I feel for them in that way. But there's just issues that he has."

"I don’ know addiction because I don't have an addiction," she continues. " You know, I just know from what people have said to me."

She adds that her College Hill costar Lamar Odom — who suffered a near-fatal overdose at a Nevada brothel in 2015 — was one of the many people who reached out for support, offering to get Bryson into one of his Odom Wellness Treatment Centers in Southern California, which offers rehabilitation programs for those struggling with addiction.

"Lamar Odom also called me and said that he would grab Bryson right away and send him to his place," NeNe shares — though she did not say whether she had taken Odom up on that path.

It is still unclear if Bryson, 33, has obtained a lawyer. PEOPLE has reached out to authorities for comment.

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Part 1 of Carlos King's Reality with the King podcast interview with NeNe Leakes drops Tuesday, with part 2 releasing Aug. 1 on major podcast platforms.

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