"I self-medicated that night" — The Real Housewives of Potomac's Karen opens up about her DUI incident in unseen footage

In the final moments of The Real Housewives of Potomac's three-part reunion finale, host Andy Cohen showed a never-before-seen video of Karen Huger. The video was filmed on December 27, 2024, the day before Karen checked herself into a private recovery program in Florida.

Karen, 61, is now in prison for her fourth DUI conviction. She was taken into custody on February 26, after being sentenced to two years in prison with one year suspended. Karen will also serve five years of probation.

The video showed a conversation between Karen and her husband Ray. Karen talked about not watching the tapes from her trial before and how she didn't recognize herself in the footage.

Karen opened up about starting to self-medicate seven years ago after her parents died. She began taking antidepressants and instead of going back to the doctor, Karen adjusted her medication herself.

Karen remembered going to a friend's house and drinking champagne after taking her medication. She had forgotten that she had taken the medication and had increased the dose.

"I self-medicated that night. What I do remember is going to a friend's house, having opened a Stella, didn't like the beer, and I said, 'No, I'm just going to do a champagne.' But I had forgotten I'd taken the medication, and not only just taken it, I had up the dose," recalled Karen.

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The Real Housewives of Potomac's cast questions Karen Huger's motivations after emotional confession

Ray pointed out that this was the "tricky part." Karen said she never meant to drink and drive. She recalled that she and Ray had an agreement that she would have a driver "12-13 years ago" after her previous DUI.

Karen told Ray she didn't want what happened to her to ever happen again. Ray tried to reassure her by saying that there are six million car crashes every year in the United States.

Karen acknowledged that what happened to her was her own fault as she was the one who "self-medicated". Karen said she was taking responsibility for her actions and seeking help on her own as she had "put people in danger."

She concluded by stating that while in rehab, she would retire her "grande dame" moniker.

"I think I'm gonna retire the grande dame and give the world a dose of Karen Huger. Because I think she's enough. In fact, I know she is," said Karen.

After the footage concluded, Karen's fellow The Real Housewives of Potomac cast members questioned her motivations. Even though she seemed to be taking responsibility, they thought her words sounded "performative".

Ashley Darby joked that Karen's speech covered all the bases. Gizelle Bryant pointed out that Karen was trying to address all the points they might question.

However, Gizelle didn't think Karen was genuinely accountable. The group discussed Karen's actions, and The Real Housewives of Potomac reunion host Andy Cohen noted that she appeared to be accepting responsibility.

Gizelle disagreed, saying Karen's excuses undermined her apology. Wendy Osefo brought up the beers found in Karen's car.

Despite their doubts, the group agreed they were happy Karen was seeking help. Stacey Rusch said she was glad Karen was getting help, no matter how she got there.

They all wished Karen the best, especially since she might go to jail. Gizelle expressed concern about Karen's age and how jail time might affect her. She thought it would be tough for Karen, who was in her 60s.

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Season 9 of The Real Housewives of Potomac concluded with the third part of the reunion.