Candiace Dillard Bassett says she has faith that her friend Karen Huger will come out of prison a stronger woman.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE at the 11th Annual Better Brothers Los Angeles Truth Awards on Saturday, March 15, the Real Housewives of Potomac alum, 38, revealed that she had been in touch with Huger, 61, before her Feb. 26 sentencing for her DUI arrest last year.
Dillard Bassett, who left RHOP after season 8, spoke with her former costar a "few times prior to her going away."
"I'm obviously devastated for her and her family," she said.
"We all know that drinking and driving is not right," Dillard Bassett continued. "We all have the opportunity to make choices, and it's on all of us to make the right choices, whether that is calling an Uber, sleeping on a couch, walking, whatever it is.
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She added: "So Karen will obviously have time to think about what she has done, but I'm excited for her to serve her time and come out stronger, which I know that she will."
Huger was sentenced to two years in prison for her March 2024 DUI arrest, with one year suspended, which means that she will spend one year behind bars and five years probation. She was given 30 days to appeal the judge's decision and 90 days to ask the judge to reconsider his order.
Dillard Bassett attended the BBLA Truth Awards, celebrating the Black LGBTQ+ community and its allies, along with fellow Bravo star Cynthia Bailey, plus Tamar Braxton, Colman Domingo and Lee Daniels, among other celebs.
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Dillard Bassett also chatted with PEOPLE about motherhood. The "Drive Back" singer welcomed her first baby, son Jett Maxwell Lee, with husband Chris Bassett in October 2024.
"I think having a son, having a child, definitely shifts the way that you approach conflict," she said, "because you're always thinking about if I were to pop off, if I were to get into it with this person or that person, and something happens to me, I'm leaving my child without a parent. So you do think about that."
The Real Housewives of Potomac season 10 is reportedly currently filming without Huger.
