The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Mary Cosby opened up about her son Robert Cosby Jr.’s death at age 23.
“I think I went into shock. I don’t know if it ever hit me, because I still feel my son,” Mary, 53, said in an interview with Vulture published on Wednesday, September 16. “I still feel his spirit, and I don’t know how that could be unless he’s OK and he made it to the good side. I feel him safe. I feel him tucked away. I feel him away from danger, so a part of me can rest.”
Mary admitted that losing her son “changed” her.
“I was so worried about him, but I thought he would get better and he would be that proof, like, ‘Look, people, you can change.’ But that was not the way he was supposed to go. People don’t leave unless it’s their time,” she said. “I mean, this kid had nine lives. He had accident after accident, and finally it caught up with him. I think that it was for the good. To this day, there’s a peace that lives in my house. It’s a peace that we didn’t have before. So we’re thankful but hurt, if that makes sense.”
Robert Jr. died in February following a battle with addiction. A Salt Lake City Police Department spokesperson confirmed to Us that officers responded to a dispatch call for an overdose at 6:14 p.m. on February 23. Robert was found dead upon authorities’ arrival.
Amid the tragedy, filming for RHOSLC season 7 paused. Mary recalled in the new interview that the production team had offered her to take some time off to grieve without the fear of losing her job, but she ultimately made the choice to return to the series.
“I thought, ‘If I [take time off], then I’m gonna go darker into what I’m in. I’m gonna just sit at home, I’m gonna think about it. I’m gonna constantly be at ends: Why, what, how, when, what could I have done better, what could I have changed?’” she said. “I would have beat myself up.”
Mary’s RHOSLC costars rallied around her and supported her throughout the difficult time.
“Well, first of all, they all came over. The doorbell rang, Bronwyn [Newport] brought her mom. Doorbell rings, and Lisa [Barlow] sent food, sent baskets, sent gifts. Just constantly sending me stuff, constantly showing up, constantly coming over, sitting down, talking to me,” she said. “In some ways I felt like I ended up encouraging them. I found strength in them coming to see me, talking to me, keeping me going.”
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City season 7 premieres on Bravo Wednesday, September 16, at 8 p.m. ET and streams the next day on Peacock.
