Mary Cosby is opening up about her decision to return to The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City just weeks after her son Robert Cosby Jr.‘s death.
“I just didn’t want to sit around and sulk,” Mary, 53, said on the Wednesday, September 30, episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “I didn’t want to sit around and it just swallow me. So, I thought, ‘Be distracted, keep going.’ My son would want me to go [on] and just push, and I did.”
Mary resumed filming for RHOSLC season 7 earlier this year following Robert Jr.’s death at age 23 in February. The season premiere followed Mary’s fellow cast members — Meredith Marks, Lisa Barlow, Bronwyn Newport, Whitney Rose, Angie Katsanevas and Heather Gay — rallying around her in the aftermath of her son dying.
A Salt Lake City Police Department spokesperson previously confirmed to Us that officers had responded to a dispatch call for an overdose at 6:14 p.m. on February 23. Robert Jr. was found dead upon their arrival.
In September, Mary opened up about her grief in an interview with Vulture.
“I think I went into shock. I don’t know if it ever hit me, because I still feel my son,” she said. “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.”
“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 continued. “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.”
In the same interview, Mary revealed that the RHOSLC production team had offered her the opportunity to take time off.
“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.”
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City airs on Bravo Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET and streams on Peacock the next day.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
