‘Real Housewives of Potomac’ star Karen Huger released from jail

 Karen Huger was released on Tuesday, Sept. 2, after being sentenced to two years—with one year suspended—stemming from a DUI.

The Grande Dame is officially a free woman. 

After reports that her release date had been updated, on Tuesday, Sept. 2, “Real Housewives of Potomac” star Karen Huger was spotted leaving the Montgomery County Detention Center in Rockville, Maryland, in a black SUV, according to footage from Fox 5 Washington.  

The 62-year-old reality TV fixture smiled broadly and waved to reporters and fans from the backseat of the vehicle, wearing a crisp white blouse and a silk scarf tied around her hair. 

Huger was released after six months behind bars, following a March 2024 DUI arrest stemming from a car crash in which she lost control of her Maserati, slammed into a median, and struck multiple street signs. Police bodycam footage captured the “Housewife” slurring her words, staggering to walk, and becoming belligerent to the point of calling herself “Thomas Jefferson’s concubine.” She was convicted in December 2024 of DUI and DWI, among other charges, though she was acquitted of reckless driving.

In February 2025, a judge sentenced her to two years in jail with one year suspended. According to The Washington Post, she earned early release after receiving credit for time served, participating in a rehabilitation program, and maintaining good behavior.

The reality TV veteran must still complete five years of probation, pay a $2,900 fine, and install a Breathalyzer device in her car. Her driver’s license is also suspended for a year.

After her conviction, Huger revealed during specially taped videos for the “Real Housewives of Potomac” season 9 reunion that when she received her guilty verdict, her heart “dropped.” 

“This is very frightening, but I accept full responsibility for everything that went on with my car accident,” she said, adding how her family was her top priority at the time. “I don’t care about me right now. I care about my children; I care about my family. They are so hurt.”

To her legions of loyal fans that span generations, she said, “I know a lot of young children look up to me right now, [they] call me Auntie Karen, [the] Grande Dame. Do as I say, not as I do.”

Her release arrives just days after the trailer for the upcoming season 10 of “Real Housewives of Potomac” dropped, packed with eyebrow-raising drama —Huger was notably absent. While she’d be far from the first housewife to reclaim her throne after time behind bars, whether she picks back up her champagne flute remains to be seen.