It’s been an emotional seven months for Karen Huger, what with the death of her mother in November and her father in June. And the pain of those losses are front and center at The Real Housewives of Potomac‘s season 3 reunion.
PEOPLE has the exclusive sneak peek at Sunday’s first part of the two-part affair, which sees Karen fleeing the stage for sanctuary.
“I need to pray. I need to pray. I can’t help it,” she says, in tears.
Host Andy Cohen then reveals that Karen’s father, Benjamin B. Wooden Jr., had been buried five days earlier. He died on June 28 of natural causes, after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 74.
Karen’s mother, Georgia Raines Wooden — who also suffered from Alzheimer’s disease – died on Nov. 23. She was 71.
“I knew this would be hard for her,” Monique Samuels says on Sunday, after Karen leaves the stage. “She was breaking down earlier before we got dressed.”
Prior to leaving the stage, Karen and Gizelle Bryant were discussing their fractured friendship.
As fans know, Karen’s been in the hot seat this season on RHOP, with Bryant and cast mates Ashley Darby and Robyn Dixon questioning Karen’s marriage to husband Ray Huger and her involvement in Ray’s tax problems. Last July, The Washington Post — citing public records — reported that Ray personally owes nearly $1.5 million in back-due federal taxes, and his software company owes more than $3 million.
Since then, Karen has denied that she had any knowledge of Ray’s financial troubles, insisting instead that the two of them have separate bank accounts (“Karen is debt-free and loaded”). She’s also maintained that their marriage of over 20 years is stronger than ever despite being seen on camera without her wedding ring.
Bryant and company have called her a liar, something Karen denies.
“I’m not lying. No, I’m surviving sister,” she says. “I’m putting on my pants and I’m pulling up.”
“You don’t know, okay,” she says. “So don’t assume that just because I walked out of your life for a moment that it was personal. You should of, as a good friend, come to me and asked me what was wrong. You should of come to my house. … You didn’t care. You didn’t care. You just cared about being messy.”
That doesn’t sit well with Bryant. “Karen, that’s a lie, don’t do that,” she says. “Because I told you I wanted to see you privately without the group but you said, ‘No, I don’t want to do it.'”
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But Karen didn’t have time. “I was busy balancing my personal life and Ray’s life,” she says.
“Everyone on this couch knew my parents were sick,” she adds. “Everybody knew that. They didn’t care about that story, Andy. What they cared about was the sensational mess. I don’t know how anybody could be that malicious. But they knew, and they never expressed an interested. And my parents are dead and gone now.”
The Real Housewives of Potomac season 3 reunion begins Sundays (8 p.m. ET) on Bravo.
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