If you are a real housewives fan, then you know who Mary Cosby is And if you don’t, you’re in for a wild ride.
Cosby is one of Bravo’s stars The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, and while they didn’t throw her in jail like Jen Shah, has remained a controversial cast member.
This is due to persistent allegations that the church she leads, Faith Temple, is a cult.
Although the rumors have died down in the new seasons of RHOSLC, a bombshell documentary about HBO Max it’s putting them back in the spotlight.
Watch with us break why The cult of the real housewife it’s a must-see this January.
UPDATE — 11/15/25, 2:38 pm ET The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’s Mary Cosby is speaking out after TLC announced a three-part docuseries that will investigate her church. “I think it’s sad and a shame. It’s horrible,” Mary said during a panel at BravoCon 2025 on Friday, Nov. 14. “That’s what I think.” In (…)
You don’t need to know the “Real Housewives” to enjoy it
If you think you have to do it all The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City first look The Cult of the Real Housewife, don’t be afraid Mary Cosby is such a fascinating character, aside from her stint on the popular Bravo series, that you can dive headfirst into this docuseries without being a real housewives none whatsoever The cult of the real housewife is simply a compelling true-crime documentary about Mary, her church, and the allegations against her that range from spying on church members to abusing congregants, going through affairs, and expecting members to work for free.
Still, these allegations don’t even cover everything that makes Mary such a polarizing figure, like the fact that she claims she “had” to marry her grandmother’s husband (we’ll get into that). So if you’re looking for your next true crime attraction, part three The cult of the real housewife it definitely is. Also, it can have the unwanted effect of spinning real housewives Skeptics in new fans. Between a stint in jail, an alleged cult, MLM schemes, and of course, “RealityVonTease.” RHOSLC it’s pretty much one of the wildest installments of the full length real housewives franchise
The allegations against Mary and her church are shocking
It’s difficult to go into the full extent of the allegations against Faith Temple and Mary Cosby, but we’ll do our best to provide a brief summary. Ex-congregants of the church (who are interviewed for this documentary) claim to have suffered religious abuse at the hands of Maria and her husband, Robert Mr.and that Mary is positioned as a God-like figure to be worshipped, or else. Ultimately, the documentary reveals a deeply manipulative and greedy woman who wields her status in the church over people like a cudgel.
Although cameras were also in use in the church before Mary’s inauguration, Mary had a different use for them. The filmed confessions were allegedly used for public humiliation rituals, while there are claims that Mary had cameras elsewhere to spy on members while they were out of town. Other ex-congregants claim that Mary exploited them for free labor, pressuring members to donate large sums of money to the church. Then there are the allegations that Robert Sr. he abused male congregants with extreme military-style exercises, as well as emotionally abusing and stalking female congregants.
‘The Cult of the Real Housewife’ addresses the elephant in the room
It is arguable that even more than the estrangement with her church, Mary’s marriage to Robert Sr. was actually the most discussed aspect of his presence at The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City when the show started in 2020. Basically, Robert Sr. he is Mary’s stepfather. He is not related to her by blood, but was married to her grandmother, Rosemary. Mary has stated on the show that her grandmother’s wish was for Mary to marry her husband and take over the church.
But The cult of the real housewife paints a slightly different story, one in which Mary was, at one point, “excommunicated” from the church because of her behavior when she was younger, and became close to Robert Sr. he took over the church. Also, Mary’s mother, Rosalind, once marched to the church in protest of Mary and Robert Sr.’s marriage. Maria’s estranged sister, Denise Jefferson Odinakais interviewed for this documentary and even claims that Robert Sr. he was a father figure to the two of them when they were younger, which made the whole situation that much creepier.
Apparently, Robert Sr. he claimed that God “forced” him to marry Mary at some point after he had taken Mary under his wing at the Temple of Faith. Although Mary claimed RHOSLC who never wanted to marry Robert Sr., curiously divorced her first husband, Dana Harris, and married Robert Sr. just a few weeks later.