Kara Keough is reflecting on her grieving journey more than six years after the death of her baby boy, McCoy.
“For me, writing was an outlet for a lot of my pain throughout my grief journey with McCoy’s passing, and then three weeks later, our father, [Matt Keough], passing, I was in it. I was in a rough, rough place,” Kara, 37, exclusively shares with Us while marking 20 years of The Real Housewives of Orange County. “Sharing with people felt like an exhale for me. Sharing with people that felt invested in my life ended up being one of the greatest gifts of my deep grief.”
In April 2020, Kara announced via Instagram that her son died from complications during childbirth.
In the years since, the former Bravo reality star has bravely opened up about the highs and lows of grief as she raises three other children with her husband, Kyle Bosworth.
“I had people who could truly say, ‘I understand.’ There were people that came out of Minnesota, Ireland, Arizona, saying, ‘Hey, something similar happened to me,’ or ‘I understand how you’re feeling,’ and that is a gift,” Kara shares. “Having a community behind you … it’s been pretty cool and pretty special.”
One person who stepped up to the plate in more ways than one was Kara’s older brother, Shane Keough.
“I was here. I had shown up to Florida weeks before, and with COVID and the baby coming, it was like, ‘Just stay till the baby comes,’” Shane, 39, recalls. “[Kara] could have taken this moment and never told anyone and been totally justified, but giving people a place to go to talk about their experience, I think was inspiring.”
When RHOC premiered in 2006, Shane and Kara were young kids who didn’t always get along. In fact, they were quick to describe themselves as “brats” as their mom, Jeana Keough, helped launch one of Bravo’s biggest franchises.
Years after stepping away from reality TV, Kara can’t believe how much closer she has gotten to her big brother.
“The people that watched Shane growing up would never have imagined that he was the one that was helping me wrap cabbage around my breast to help my milk dry up after my son died,” she tells Us. “This was a guy that sat there with me, deep in the grief. When you watch us when we’re in high school, we look like little brats that hate each other.”
Now, Kara — who is trying to finish a book about her experience in the wake of McCoy’s birth and death — is proud to say there has been a lot of “growth” between the Keough siblings.
“We always say that was McCoy and our dad’s gift,” she shares. “They somehow did this thing to our family and made us even closer.”
The Real Housewives of Orange County airs on Bravo Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET. Stream new episodes the next day on Peacock.
