On every season of the hit spinoff The Real Housewives of Potomac, the relationship between Karen Huger and Gizelle Bryant is awkward at best and contentious at worst. The show’s alums just never find their happy medium as friends. But ahead of Season 6, Huger is sharing their current friendship status (and it wouldn't be the Grande Dame if there wasn't a little shade to boot).
Bravo fans will recall that the last season of Real Housewives of Potomac was pretty dramatic. Candiace Dillard Bassett and Monique Samuels’s physical fight, which resulted in multiple lawsuits, saw to that. In the background though, Karen Huger and Gizelle Bryant’s reignited feud dissolved their previous attempts at being cordial. It didn't get much better at the reunion, and the most recent update on their relationship seems to be shaky still. Bryant told The Breakfast Club that they're good, but Huger told ET Online otherwise:
Listen, I'm all for people making authentic efforts to better themselves and to be a good friend. I'm all for that. I'm just very wise. So, that has to be proven to me. But I'm hopeful that it's real this time and that we can get on to a better place. So I'm always open. But, honey, I got a third eye on Gizz. At all times.
Let's start with Karen Huger calling Gizelle Bryant by the nickname “Gizz.” I'm thinking that's a little underhand shade there, but perhaps fair enough (Bryant has mocked Huger for calling herself the “Grande Dame” and her husband the “Black Bill Gates” in the past). Still, Huger's initial statement might lead some to believe they're rebuilding their friendship on the Real Housewives of Potomac.
Think again. The two Real Housewives of Potomac stars seem to still have deep trust issues with one another. Or at least, Karen Huger does with Gizelle Bryant. Huger also said:
'We're alright for now' is what [Gizelle Bryant] actually said. I'm on pause and on ready, honey, at all times for your 'alright for now' not to be genuine. Am I wasting my time with that? No. I had a ball with all of the other ladies. We grew fantastically close. I love each and every one of them.
In seasons past, both Karen Huger and Gizelle Bryant have shaded each other’s relationship with their significant other into the dirt. That's likely the root of their mistrust. Bryant famously showed up to Huger's “press conference” event wearing a monogrammed shirt with “Free Karen” and “Tax Reform,” alluding to her husband Ray Huger's tax troubles. Last year, Huger questioned Bryant about getting back together with the father of her children, with sly remarks to how he cheated in the past and has other “baby mommas.”
The first look into the Real Housewives of Potomac’s Season 6 seemed to indicate that the Karen Huger-Gizelle Bryant shade isn't done yet. In the trailer, Huger is heard saying, “Honey, you got dragged, then you let him back in, and he dragged you again.” Likewise, Bryant is seen banging on the table, saying to Huger, “I want Ray to pay his bills!” However, in her recent interview, Huger conceded that it takes Bryant's ability “to do what she does without any conscience” to make the show what it is.
The Real Housewives of Potomac premieres on Bravo on Sunday, July 11, at 8 p.m. EST. I’ll be tuning in to get the latest on Karen and Gizelle, the newcomer who replaced Monique Samuels, and what exactly the “Eddie rumor” is. Sounds like a hot mess already…
