Karen Huger on ‘Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen’ on Bravo.Photo:Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty
Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty
The Real Housewives of Potomacseason 9 reunionended on Sunday, March 2 with a surprise.
In the final moments of the three-part season climax, reunion hostAndy Cohenintroduced never-before-seen video ofKaren Huger, filmed on Dec. 27, 2024 — the day before the mother of twochecked herself into a private recovery program in Floridato address her usage of alcohol and antidepressants.
Karen, 61, is in prison nowfor her fourth DUI conviction. She was taken into custody on Wednesday, Feb. 26,moments after she was sentenced to two years in prison(with one year suspended). She’ll have to serve five years probation.
All pends from herMay 2024 single vehicle car crashand subsequent drunk driving arrest.Bodycam footage later released from the sceneshowed a visibly intoxicated Karen stumbling and slurring her words, while admitting to police she’d had “a couple of beers” and describing herself as “Thomas Jefferson’s concubine.”
Karen Huger on season 9 of ‘The Real Housewives of Potomac’.Shannon Finney/Bravo
Shannon Finney/Bravo
Though Bravo fans picked every frame of the footage apart, Karen herself never commented on it. And as viewers learned on Sunday’s reunion, that’s because she never watched it until she was forced to in the courtroom.
The experience, Karen told husbandRay Hugerin the filmed conversation Andy debuted, was eye-opening.
“Dots are being connected for me,” Karen said. “I keep saying, ‘Surely they made a mistake, right? Because everything’s not connecting to me.’ And I watched and I’m telling you… I didn’t recognize that woman. I didn’t know her. … But it helped me to hear that because I blacked out before the impact.”
Ray Huger and Karen Huger in June 2023.Brian Stukes/Getty
Brian Stukes/Getty
She went on to explain what she recalled from the accident, going back to the fact that she started taking antidepressantsafter the death of her parentsseven years ago. “It was fine, it would help, but then I need more and more as life kept life-ing,” she told Ray. “And so instead of going back to the doctor, I adjusted my medication. I self-medicated.”
“That night, what I do remember is going to a friend’s house. I opened a Stella, didn’t like the beer. I said, ‘No, I’m just going to do a champagne.’ So I started drinking champagne,” she said. “But I had forgot I had taken the medication and not only just taken it, I had upped the dose.”
“It was like a snowball,” she said.
Andy Cohen and Karen Huger on ‘Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen’.Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
“It’s my fault,” Karen said. “What happened to me was self-inflicted. I drove. I had that accident. I put people in danger.”
Going to rehab, Karen added, was a chance to work on herself. “I’m going away not court-ordered. I’m doing this for me,” she said. “What happened to me, I don’t want that to ever happen to me again.”
Ray Huger and Karen Huger in April 2018.Brian Stukes/Getty
In the final moments of their conversation, Karen revealed that she was looking forward to returning back to the world as herself and not the Grand Dame, the moniker palGizelle Bryantfamously gave her.
“I’m going to retire the Grand Dame and give the world a dose of Karen Huger. Because I think she’s enough; in fact, I know she is,” the Bravo star said.
Phylicia J. L. Munn/Bravo
“They certainly covered all the bases there,” Ashley joked, as Gizelle pointed out, “They were trying to cover all the points that they think we’re going to question.”
“That wasn’t accountability, not to me. I don’t know what that was,” Gizelle continued. “How about what you were drinking!?! … That wasn’t accountability.”
Karen Huger in a photoshoot for season 9 of ‘The Real Housewives of Potomac’.Phylicia Munn/Bravo
Phylicia Munn/Bravo
Still, the group agreed that they were happy Karen was doing the work on herself. “I just feel like, no matter how she gets there, at least she’s getting help,” said Stacey.
And they all prayed for her best, should she wind up behind bars. “Karen is 60-something years old. To be going to jail at 60-something years old is a problem,” said Gizelle. “I don’t see it going well at all.”
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All seasons ofThe Real Housewives of Potomaccan be streamed on Peacock.
source: people.com
