The Real Housewives of Potomac’s Karen Huger may not have been in attendance at the Season reunion as she dealt with the fallout from her legal troubles — but she did make a surprising video appearance that left more than one Housewife in tears, as seen in the new trailer for the event.
The shocking teaser showed a humble-looking Karen, dressed down in jeans, a sweater, and a fuzzy winter hat, sitting in a chair at her home.
“There’s an elephant in the room that we need to address. Karen, the Grand Dame, is not with us,” host Andy Cohen set the stage before the video began. “She sent a message, let’s take a look.”
Did Karen Huger appear at the RHOP reunion?
Karen did not appear in person at the Season 9 reunion, but did send a video message.
Karen was seen in the video visibly crying and wiping tears from her eyes as she delivered an unheard message to her castmates, the trailer shows.
“That made you cry,” Andy remarked to Gizelle Bryant after the video wrapped.
“As much as I hate her, I love her,” Gizelle said as she wiped her own tears.
“I think it’s just sad,” Keiarna Stewart added as she dabbed her eyes.
But the heartfelt message clearly didn’t resonate with everyone.
“Having seen that it all adds up and now I can confidently say that is not my friend,” Wendy Osefo remarked in the trailer, as the camera panned to a stunned Stacey Rusch.
Karen’s manager Ryan Tresdale previously explained her absence from the reunion in a statement to The Daily Dish, noting that Karen made the decision to enter rehab after she was convicted in December of driving under the influence.
"Karen made the important decision to enter a private recovery program, so was unable to attend the reunion taping today. She was fully supported in this choice,” Tresdale said at the time. “We stand behind Karen as she embarks on this meaningful journey and are proud of her for taking such a significant step forward in her personal growth."
What happened to Mia Thornton during the RHOP reunion?
But the reunion trailer teased more than that.
The ladies kept Karen with them in spirit, placing a framed photo of her on the couch as they re-lived all the best Season 9 drama.
And as the reunion kicked off, Wendy commended Gizelle for her glam look.
Gizelle wore a long sleek white gown with diamond-encrusted cut out on the chest, complemented by long diamond studded pink fingernails.
“I can’t believe her nails, like what is this?” an impressed Wendy remarked.
“It’s a new year, titties out,” Gizelle jokingly shot back.
The women then got into it all from bunions to Miami, according to the trailer, but it was Mia Thornton who found herself in the hot seat as she dodged remarks about her former boyfriend Incognito, aka Inc, and her estranged husband, Gordon Thornton.
“You had this plan of you and Inc,” Wendy told her at one point. “It backfired and so you said, let me drop Inc.”
“Let me pretend to drop Inc,” Gizelle added, seemingly implying the romance with the radio personality hasn’t completely fizzled.
In another scene, Ashley Darby told Mia that she showed “no contrition” while Kierna challenged her devotion to her family.
“Exploiting your family, that’s what it feels like,” she told her.
Even Stacey got in on the drama, saying “You’re a liar, how dare you?” as Mia wiped away a tear.
The hot seat may have proved to be a little too hot for the mom of three as she was later seen in her dressing room with Andy, who told her: “There’s nothing worse than, like, a shame spiral, and I feel like you’re in one.”
Karen may not have been in attendance, but she wasn’t immune to facing her own set of shocking accusations in the trailer as part of the fallout from her December DUI conviction, with Wendy suggesting Karen may have a more serious problem and Ashley questioning the circumstances around her crash.
The women also feared for Karen’s future, telling Andy that she would do “terrible” if she’s sent to jail. Karen is expected to face sentencing at the end of February.
It wasn’t the only bombshell to come out of the reunion. Although Stacey’s “best friend” TJ wasn’t at the reunion, he seemingly made an accusation while FaceTiming with Wendy’s husband, Eddie Osefo, that left the women in shock — although viewers will just have to wait to find out what that claim was.
“What?” Ashley and Gizelle exclaimed when they heard the juicy rumor.
“It’s a lie,” a surprised Stacey insisted. “TJ would never say that.”
But Wendy defended her hubby, assuring Stacey that TJ had made the remark “on camera.”
“What would Karen think about this?” Gizelle exclaimed as she clutched the photo of her missing castmate.
When will the RHOP Season 9 reunion air?
The reunion will start Sunday, February 16 at 8/7c on Bravo.
