Karen Huger got a warm welcome from fans at BravoCon 2025 as she made her first major public appearance since her September release from jail.
The Real Housewives of Potomac star, 62, presented the first award at “The Bravos” in Las Vegas as the three-day fan convention kicked off on Friday, November 14. She was met with a standing ovation when she took the stage.
An RHOP panel took place earlier on Friday with costars including Gizelle Bryant, Ashley Darby and Wendy Osefo, but Karen wasn’t present — although the women confirmed that she was in Las Vegas. (Wendy, 41, addressed her own legal troubles during the panel after she and husband Eddie Osefo were arrested for fraud in October.)
Karen returned to the spotlight two months after Us Weekly confirmed her release from the Montgomery County Detention Center in Maryland. She left the facility after serving six months of her one-year sentence.
Karen was charged with DUI and DWI after a 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.
Following the wreck, Karen spoke out about her state of mind before crashing her car.
“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 in a statement 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!”
She continued, “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, Karen was found guilty 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,” Karen’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.”
In February, Karen was sentenced to two years in jail with one year suspended, meaning she was ordered to remain behind bars for one year. She reported to Maryland’s Montgomery County Detention Center shortly after her sentencing.
Season 10 of The Real Housewives of Potomac captured footage of Karen’s release from jail, with an October sneak peek showing her emotional reaction as she asked a driver, “Do we have tissues in here?”
The midseason trailer, which debuted at BravoCon on Friday, showed Karen sitting down for an emotional interview with Andy Cohen, who told Us, “I heard things from her that I’ve never heard before, and there was a vulnerability and an openness that I really appreciated.”
