Robert Cosby Jr., the son of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Mary Cosby, has died at 23 years old. Salt Lake City police confirmed the death to Variety, saying they originally responded to an overdose call on Monday, but then it became a death investigation
Robert Jr. has been a presence on the Bravo series, discussing his addiction to drugs with his mother in several episodes. During the show’s fifth season, Mary and Robert Jr. had a long, honest conversation about his drug usage that resonated with viewers. (The scene is included below.) Mary asked him when he began taking drugs, and he told her he’d started using at 16, taking Xanax, Molly, acid and cocaine in addition to weed. He told her that it had gotten out of control, as she listened sympathetically and told him she’d help him. “I wanted to die at the time,” he told her. “Do you know how that would kill me?” Mary asked through tears. “I just felt like a stain,” he answered.
The scene — so raw and real — had a huge impact on Bravo viewers. In an interview with Vulture at the end of Season 5, Mary said: “When I watched it, I bawled my eyeballs out. I was shocked that that’s what we delivered.” Mary said that she’d gotten a tremendous amount of support from fans, including Rihanna, who reached out to her twice after the episode aired, including to say, “Merry Christmas, and I love you and Robert Jr.”
Robert Jr. entered treatment soon after that Season 5 scene, but his sobriety didn’t last. During the show’s recently concluded sixth season, Robert Jr. admitted that he was still using, though he was trying not to. During the filming of the Season 6 reunion, Mary said that Robert Jr. was in jail for violating a restraining order against his estranged wife. (Mary had also expressed her disappointment with Robert Jr. getting secretly married during the run of the show.)
Mary debuted as an original cast member on “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” in 2020. She did not shoot for the film’s third season, but returned for the fourth as a “friend of” the cast, before returning to the main cast for its fifth season. Mary has become one of the popular show’s breakout cast members, having really clocked in during the show’s fifth season. She received a standing ovation at BravoCon — the fan convention that celebrates shows on the network — during a taping of Andy Cohen’s “Watch What Happens Live.” Mary, the pastor of Faith Temple Pentecostal Church, had initially drawn criticism from her fellow castmates, who claimed that her church is a cult. Such allegations are why she didn’t show up at the show’s Season 2 reunion. Recently, though, her charisma, cutting humor and being a loving mother have somehow eclipsed those accusations, and not even an entire TLC docuseries about her and her church could dent put a dent in her popularity.
TMZ first reported the news.
Watch the clip of Robert Jr. and Mary on the show below.
Pat Saperstein contributed to this story.
