“Real Housewives of Potomac” star Karen Huger’s time in prison is over, sooner than expected.
The reality TV star was released from the Montgomery County Detention Center in Maryland on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Montgomery Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed to The Times. Huger served six months of a year in prison. She was sentenced in February to two years in prison, with one year suspended, after being convicted in 2024 of driving under the influence in Potomac.
Representatives for Huger, 62, did not immediately respond to the Times’ request for comment on Tuesday.
Huger waved her SUV as she left the facility shortly after her release, according to video shared by Fox 5 DC reporter Stephanie Ramirez.
Maryland police arrested Huger in March 2024, citing her for driving under the influence after she crossed the median and hit a street sign, crashing her Maserati. She was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence and other traffic violations, and was later released from police custody.
Shortly after her arrest, Huger attributed the accident to grief and the death of her mother in 2017. “Grief comes and goes in waves, and with Mother’s Day coming up, it’s felt more like a tsunami,” she told TMZ at the time.
A Maryland jury convicted Huger of drunken driving and reckless driving charges in December. The jury also found the bravo-lebrity guilty of failing to control her speed to avoid a collision and failing to notify authorities of a change of address. She was cleared of reckless driving charges.
Huger’s attorney, A. Scott Bolden, told the Nation in a December statement that they were “disappointed” by the jury’s verdict, but “of course respect their decision and appreciate their time in hearing our case.”
Amid her legal troubles, Huger was absent from the Season 9 reunion of “The Real Housewives of Potomac.” In a pre-recorded message that aired during the special, Huger said she entered a private recovery program to address her “taking antidepressants and drinking.”
“It’s very scary, but I take full responsibility for everything with my car accident,” Huger tearfully told producers. “I don’t care about me right now. I care about my kids; I care about my family. They’re in so much pain.”
