Credit: Shannon Finney/Bravo
Karen Huger’s prison release was featured in a sneak peek of the season 10 premiere of Real Housewives of Potomac. Plus, castmates reacted to her sentencing.
In December of last year, Karen was convicted of driving under the influence, nine months after she crashed her car into a median and two signs. At last season’s reunion, Wendy Osefo declared that Karen is “not [her] friend” after Karen failed to thank or acknowledge her in a video. Karen was sentenced in February, and she got out six months later.
In a sneak peek of the season premiere, shared by @BravoTV on X, Karen filmed her release from prison.
“Okay, it’ll be fine,” said Karen, seemingly to herself, before paparazzi called out her name. She then stepped into an SUV and asked, “How are you?” When asked how she herself was doing, Karen answered, “I’m good, thank you. Do we have tissues in here?”
As the car drove off, Karen used the tissue as her breath seemed to shake.
The timeline then flashed back six months earlier — two days after she was sentenced. In a group scene at Gizelle Bryant‘s house, Gizelle prepared food and grabbed some liquor.
“Do I want Karen in jail? Absolutely not. But do I want to make sure that we don’t have a fifth DUI? For sure,” said Gizelle in a confessional. “But I just want my Karen back. I really do.”
Back in the scene, Gizelle told Ashley Darby, “We’ve had a crazy 72 hours … Karen’s waking up in jail.”
“In gen pop,” said Ashley.
“Is this like with murderers?” asked Gizelle. “I don’t know. But I mean, I want her to be secure. I want her to be … [in] an elderly section … I want her to be there.”
“Yeah, the AARP of the jail,” echoed Ashley, before Wendy, Stacey Rusch, and Keiarna Stewart arrived.
“I am so happy that you guys could find the time to get together because I think with what just happened to Karen, I just felt like we needed to be together,” said Gizelle to the group. “Every morning, I wake up and I’m like, Karen’s in jail.”
“That’s what I think too,” said Wendy. “For me, the worst part is the fact that it was so instant, like she was taken into custody right away. Like, how does she process that? … Was she prepared? For Karen, we may have our differences, but at the core of me, that was once my friend. So I want the best for her.”
Ashley shared that she “cried so much” after the sentencing.
Gizelle added, “A part of me, though — I am going to be honest — this is the fourth DUI. There does have to be accountability so that she knows, like, never do this again … Do I want to see her in jail? Absolutely not. I still can’t believe she is in jail.”
Ashley then addressed how Karen called herself “Thomas Jefferson’s concubine” in the police cam after her arrest. “But what about the initials — T.J.?” she asked.