Credit: NBCUniversal Media
Mary Cosby opened up about the February death of her only child, son Robert Cosby Jr., and her decision to return to The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City during an interview on Wednesday.
While also sharing how she was supported by her husband, Robert Cosby Sr., and her castmates, including Bronwyn Newport, 40, and Lisa Barlow, 51, and looking back on his emotional homegoing service, Mary, 53, explained the dark side of fame, revealed whose scenes she skips when watching the show, looked ahead to the reunion, and more.
“I just looked at my daughter, and I had my hand on her when she told me, and I just started bawling. I mean, it was devastating,” Angie Katsanevas, 52, told Vulture of the moment in which Mary informed her of Robert’s overdose. “It was heartbreaking to know that you’re looking at your child and someone’s telling you they just lost their only child.”
As Angie learned the news just hours after visiting Mary’s home, Whitney Rose, 39, received the same news as she prepared to film a scene for season seven.
“Have you ever felt like your soul drops out of your body? Everything just hits the ground. It was, like, a complete out-of-body experience,” she described.
As filming was temporarily paused, executive producer Andy Cohen, 58, said he and his team aimed to respect Mary’s privacy and let her guide them on how they should proceed.
“She kept telling us that the sisterhood of the women and her bond with the production crew were a source of comfort for her during this time,” he recalled.
Although Mary considered taking a break from the show, she ultimately decided that a pause would lead her into further darkness.
“I would have beat myself up,” she explained.
So, one month after Robert Jr. died, she returned to production.
“I want our show to thrive. And I feel like me being there, being present, pushing with that mind-set helps it. I go into work mode. I want to stay number one. The show is like our baby. I care about it, so that keeps me going,” she revealed. “I wasn’t delirious and distraught. During that time, I realized that dying from a broken heart is a choice. It came to me, like, ‘You can just choose not to even go on.’ I thought, ‘Well, maybe my journey and what I was put on this Earth for are not done. His is done. Mine isn’t. I need to keep going to see what’s in the end.'”
Also keeping Mary going were her castmates, who “came together for [her].”
“They all came over. The doorbell rang, Bronwyn brought her mom. Doorbell rings, and Lisa sent food, sent baskets, sent gifts. Just constantly sending me stuff, constantly showing up, constantly coming over, sitting down, talking to me. In some ways I felt like I ended up encouraging them. I found strength in them,” she shared.
Mary also noted that the “women were not allowed to go after [her],” saying she “needed to be dealt with fragilely.”
“It felt good. I needed it. You perform differently when you feel like you’re wanted there. So for the first time, that showed up. They paid more attention to me, didn’t put me in the background like I can’t talk,” she stated.
In addition to leaning on her castmates, Mary found solace in her husband, Robert Sr., who agreed to film a scene with her at their church, Faith Temple Pentecostal Church.
“I just asked him, Would he do it for me? I said, ‘I don’t have anyone. You’re the only family I have left.’ He cried and he had a moment, kind of a little angry moment where he almost didn’t understand. But then it comes forward and we’re both sitting there with understanding and acceptance. It was beautiful,” she recalled. “I needed him, and for him to show up for me.”
Mary also hosted a homegoing service for Robert Jr., which was attended by the likes of Kyle Richards, 57, Cynthia Bailey, 59, and Shereé Whitfield, 56.
“I will forever be indebted to them for sharing that time with me. They couldn’t have done anything better for me than to show up at such a time,” she said of their attendance.
“It came with a reassurance, and it came with an energy that everything is all right. Everything’s okay. This is all in the plan. It became an actual homegoing: You celebrate someone that gets to go home,” Mary continued about the service, which was only attended by one of her siblings.
“I don’t get caught up in what people decide to do or how they treat me, because I’ve been through so much that I just take it … If that’s their choice, they have to live with that, not me,” she reasoned.
Now, six months after Robert Jr.’s passing, Mary recalled going into “shock” about the loss.
“I don’t know if it ever hit me, because I still feel my son. I still feel his spirit, and I don’t know how that could be unless he’s okay and he made it to the good side,” she said. “I feel him safe. I feel him tucked away. I feel him away from danger, so a part of me can rest.”
According to Mary, she was “so worried” about her son amid his addiction struggles that his passing actually gave her “peace.”
“It’s a peace that we didn’t have before. So we’re thankful but hurt, if that makes sense,” she explained.
Continuing on, Mary admitted that fame is “dark.”
“It’s not a happy place. It’s not a place you reach and then you’re like, ‘Okay, I’m good.’ It alienates you. It puts you in a space where you can’t go to the store, you can’t be normal. Whenever you’re in public, you have to look nice because people are going to see. It strips your freedom,” she revealed.
Moving on to RHOSLC, Mary was asked if she fast-forwards through certain scenes.
“I absolutely do. Mainly [Heather Gay]’s. I like things to stay consistent, and her consistency kind of falls off, so it doesn’t hold my interest. I think Bronwyn’s scenes are interesting. I think Lisa’s scenes are good. I mean, when she’s arguing and fighting,” she stated.
As for the reunion, Mary said she suspected it would be “awesome.”
“Because this year, I don’t care. I’m going to say what I feel. I’m going to say what I think. I’m not going to let nobody dictate. Usually, I stay quiet and I try not to get into the mess, but I feel like I’m going to have to when I have to say something,” she declared.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City season seven premieres on Wednesday, September 16, at 8/7c on Bravo.