‘RHOP’ star Karen Huger addresses past drinking problem in the first taped interview: ‘In lifetime recovery’

 “Real Housewives of Potomac” star Karen Huger opens up about her sobriety in first taped interview since her release.

Karen Huger is naming her mistakes and sharing her story.

The 62-year-old star of “The Real Housewives of Potomac” — who spent six months in prison after being convicted in a DUI-related case — sat down for an emotional, candid interview with “Watch What Happens Live” host Andy Cohen, which aired Sunday. Filmed in her Potomac living room a week after her release, Huger reflected on her time behind bars, adjusting to life at home, and her ongoing sobriety journey. 

“I have been through hell and back,” she told Cohen at the start of their conversation.

After emotional footage showed her heartfelt return to her family — greeted by her daughter, Rayvin, sister, Bridget, and husband Ray — Huger took viewers back to the night her legal troubles began.

In March 2024, Huger was arrested in Montgomery County after losing control of her 2017 Maserati, crossing a median, and striking a series of signs. She was charged with driving under the influence (DUI), driving while impaired (DWI), negligent driving, and other related traffic offenses. A jury found her guilty in December 2024 on all but one count. 

“I was shocked,” she told Cohen of the sentencing. “I knew I was going to jail. I had made peace with that. But I thought maybe a month, no more than three. But this was just one more step toward accepting my responsibility for what I did.”

In February 2025, a Montgomery County judge sentenced Huger to two years in prison with one year suspended. With credit for good behavior, she served six months in the Montgomery County Detention Center before her release in September 2025. 

The reality TV star said she immediately went to work once incarcerated, teaching AA classes and helping others using tools she gained from a recovery program she’d completed before reporting to prison. But she also acknowledged there was a deeper issue she had to confront.

She spoke openly about self-medicating with alcohol and prescription medications while coping with decades of trauma, including a sexual assault she endured at 19 and the deaths of both her parents years earlier.

“I definitely had a drinking problem,” Huger said, adding that she now considers herself in “lifetime recovery.”

When Cohen noted it sounded like she had been in denial before her sentencing, she agreed.

“I was,” she said. “It took a long time for me to realize that.”

“A year and a half, I’ve been working on that,” she continued. “So I sort of forgive Karen. I really am at a place where I just love her now. I’m embracing her and I’m excited to see where she’ll go.”

Whether she’ll make a full return to the storied DMV-based franchise remains unclear. Still, Huger stressed that the show did not contribute to her struggles.

“The show actually saved me,” she said. “It occupied me. I think I would have spiraled quicker without it. It gave me discipline. I had a routine. So I can’t hate it. I don’t hate it. And I don’t need to blame it either. No, I was responsible for me. I was sick. I have the disease of alcoholism. I have the disease of, you know, taking prescription medicine and abusing it. That’s me.”