Real Housewives of Potomac star Karen Huger is back home after being granted an early release from the Montgomery County Detention Center in Maryland.
Officials with the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation confirmed to The Los Angeles Times that Huger walked out of the facility on Tuesday, six months into what was originally a one-year sentence. The 62-year-old reality star had been serving time after a December 2024 conviction stemming from a DUI arrest.
Huger was first taken into custody in March 2024 after police reported that she crossed a median in Potomac, Maryland, struck several street signs, and crashed her Maserati. She was later charged with driving under the influence, negligent driving, and other traffic violations.
A Maryland jury convicted her of DUI, negligent driving, failure to control speed to avoid a collision, and failure to notify authorities of an address change. She was acquitted of a reckless driving charge. At sentencing in February, she received two years in prison, with one year suspended.
Video captured by Fox 5 DC reporter Stephanie Ramirez showed Huger waving from the window of an SUV shortly after leaving the detention center. Representatives for Huger did not immediately respond to requests for comment on her release.
When her legal troubles first surfaced, Huger explained that grief over her mother’s death in 2017 played a role in her struggles. “Grief comes and goes in waves, and with Mother’s Day approaching, it has felt more like a tsunami,” she told TMZ following her arrest.
Her absence from the Season 9 Real Housewives of Potomac reunion was explained through a pre-recorded message. In it, Huger told producers she had entered a private recovery program to address “taking antidepressants and drinking.”
Fighting tears, she added: “This is very frightening, but I accept full responsibility for everything with my car accident. I don’t care about me right now. I care about my children; I care about my family. They’re so hurt.”
Huger’s early release raises questions about what’s next for her both personally and on Real Housewives, where she has been a central figure since the show’s debut in 2016.