RHOP Star Matt Byars, Friend of Karen Huger and Melissa Gorga, Dead at 37

Talent manager Matthew “Matt” Byars, who often appeared as Karen Huger’s plus one on Real Housewives of Potomac, has died. He was only 37.

Viewers of RHOP met Matt in Season 3 as a member of Karen’s “management team.” He memorably represented Karen at the “press conference” she held to field questions about her family’s financial issues. He also frequently escorted Karen for social occasions on the show, when her husband Raymond Huger wasn’t available.

According to Maryland’s Chief Office of Medical Examiner, Matt took his own life on November 21. A spokesperson reported, “He died of multiple blunt force injuries. The manner is suicide.” An autopsy has already been completed.

The Housewives grieve a beloved friend in Matt Byars

According to The U.S. Sun, Matt was also a friend of Real Housewives of New Jersey star Melissa Gorga, who remembered him with a loving tribute on Instagram. “Why didn’t you tell me Matt?” she wrote. “I’m heartbroken … I wish I could have saved you. Thank you for the memories. Go fly – Go make them laugh.”

In a 2019 interview with The Daily Dish, Karen said she met Matt when he was a teenager.

“I’ve known Matt since he was about 17, 18 years old,” said the Grand Dame of Potomac. “I encourage Matt when life is difficult … When life was trying to him, I reached out and told him to go to school, and he did, and now we work together.”

She described their relationship as being “true friends,” adding, “He’s like family … He came to my mother’s funeral.”

“I wasn’t on this show when I met Matt,” she continued. “I was a mother in Potomac, and he needed some advice. [So,] I gave it, and he never forgot it. And what makes him a true friend is that relationship continued to grow, even when I got on [RHOP].”

Karen has not publicly commented on Matt’s untimely passing.

RIP, Matt. You will be missed.

RHOP star Charrisse Jackson-Jordan also paid tribute to Matt with a picture of the two of them, which she captioned, “Rest in Peace.”