Karen Huger Cites Stress in Plead for Leniency

Last month the Grande Dame of The Real Housewives of Potomac, Karen Huger, entered a rehab facility following her conviction on DUI charges [click here if you missed that].   

Now Karen is hoping the judge will go easy at her sentencing today, considering the death of both her parents eight years ago and the stress of playing the lead in a top rated reality TV show...

From In Touch

Karen Hugger argued the stress of losing her parents and providing “responsible leadership on” Real Housewives of Potomac led to her taking more anti-depressants, and she believes this played a role in her being arrested for driving under the influence, In Touch can exclusively report.

According to court documents obtained by In Touch, Karen, 61, asked a Maryland judge to go soft on her at her sentencing on Wednesday, February 25.

In a newly filed motion, Karen’s lawyers argued the reality star said, “Ms. Huger’s mother died on Thanksgiving morning in 2017 of kidney failure and sepsis. Her father died seven months later on June 28, 2018 from the complications of Alzheimer’s and ‘of a broken heart.’ Those two losses, in quick succession, were for Ms. Huger, personally devastating and, in her opinion, may have been the straws that broke her back, arguably leading to several errors in judgment that led to her arrest in this case. 

Karen’s lawyers said, “Ms. Huger reports when she started taking the prescribed dosages of the medication following her rxpe in college, she felt she was able to continue to drink in moderation in social settings. However, over time, the loss of her parents, and the pressures of being in the public eye – and the stress of providing responsible leadership on the TV show – continued to wear at her well-being. Over time the dosages of the medication went up – probably beyond prescribed recommendations – but the drinking in moderation remained the same. As she explains, ‘I was taking one pill after the assault and then I began taking two after my parents’ death.

"In hindsight, she is concerned that the medication (combined with alcohol) impaired her ability to accurately assess her coordination on March 19. During the trial, she could not turn off the testimony, or the body cameras. She could not get up and walk out of the room, nor look at her phone. The trial was a wake-up call that inspired Ms. Huger to take the dramatic step of entering a 28 day in-patient rehabilitation program: Beachside in West Palm Beach. The Court is probably very familiar with dual- diagnosis treatment programs. Ms. Huger refers to her time at Beachside as a triple-diagnosis program: dedicated to treating alcohol abuse; drug/medication abuse; and trauma.,” they said.

“Ms. Huger took her last dose of the anti-depressant medication on December 28, the night before she checked into her residential program. She reports that four nights later, she woke up completely drenched in sweat as she went through withdrawal,” her lawyer said.

In response, the prosecutors pointed out she, “has two prior DUI/DWI convictions plus a third one that was pled down to a reckless driving.”