Before becoming one of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, NeNe Leakes was a stripper.

The upper-crust Southern socialite makes the revelation on the pages of her new autobiography Never Make The Same Mistake Twice.

“Yes, I was a stripper – let the judgments ensue,” says the sassy Leakes — known as “Silk” during her days in the sex industry. “I’m not ashamed.”

The former shake dancer cites the financial restraints of single parenthood as the main contributing factor in her decision to take up pole dancing more than a decade ago.

“[I stripped] for the sake of my son, and to restore my confidence in myself,” she explains. “My son was in private school, his father wasn’t chipping in for ­pull-ups or food, I had no job and no money coming in, the rent was past due, and the super told me and my roommate that our condo owner was about to put us out. It was about survival.”