The Real Housewives of Potomac star Karen Huger has been released from prison six months early after her 2024 DUI arrest, Us Weekly confirmed.
“Ms. Huger has been released,” a rep for the Montgomery County Detention Center in Maryland tells Us.
The Bravo personality, 62, left the prison on Tuesday, September 2, after serving just over six months of her sentence. She entered the facility on February 27.
Huger was initially sentenced to two years in jail with one year suspended, meaning she was set to spend one year behind bars. Us Weekly confirmed last week that she would be leaving prison early.
The reality star’s conviction stemmed from her March 2024 car accident in Potomac, Maryland. Montgomery County Police told TMZ at the time that she was driving her 2017 Maserati in an “aggressive manner” when she struck an intersection crosswalk sign and a parking sign.
Huger wasn’t arrested at the scene, but she received multiple citations and was later charged with DUI and DWI.
After the accident, Huger shared a lengthy statement about her state of mind before the crash.
“Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes during this very frightening experience. I am still in shock from last night’s incident but grateful to be alive today. With the passing of my beloved mother, grief comes and goes in waves, and with Mother’s Day approaching it has felt more like a tsunami,” she told TMZ at the time. “Last night I met a girlfriend for dinner, we talked and brought up some very emotionally sensitive topics. I was crying on my way home and saw a car heading right for me. I swerved to avoid the head-on collision, hit the divider and then a tree. I’m hurt, bruised up a bit, but so grateful I am alive! I did receive citations, one of which was unrelated to the incident which is understandable, but what was most surprising is that the car that almost hit me just drove away!”
Karen Huger Phylicia J. L. Munn/Bravo
She added, “I would like to stress, it’s important to understand your emotional state when driving and may this be a reminder to all to use their seatbelts. My mother may be my guardian angel, but the seatbelt saved my life.”
In December 2024, Huger was found guilty on charges of DUI, DWI, negligently driving a vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner endangering property, life and person, failure to control vehicle speed on the highway to avoid a collision, driving a vehicle in excess of reasonable and prudent speed on the highway, driving a vehicle on the highway with suspended registration and failure to notify administration of change of address within 30 days.
“Although we are disappointed in the jury’s verdict, we of course respect their decision and appreciate their time hearing our case,” Huger’s attorney A. Scott Bolden told People at the time. “We continue to reserve Mrs. Huger’s right to an appeal and intend to fully pursue justice on her behalf. We appreciate your support and prayers for Mrs. Huger and her family at this time.”
Season 10 of RHOP began filming in the spring without Huger. She notably missed the season 9 reunion, which taped before she was sentenced but after she was convicted. In a trailer for the new episodes, Gizelle Bryant writes a letter to her costar that reads, “Dear Karen, not a day goes by where I don’t think about you. In a lot of ways, life has been moving on and some things haven’t changed at all. I need some help with these hoes. Love you, Gizelle.”
