The 23-year-old son of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Mary Cosby has died, according to TMZ.
The cause of Robert Cosby Jr.’s death has yet to be determined, but the site reports that authorities responded to a call in Utah on Monday night about a possible overdose.
Cosby Jr. has appeared on Real Housewives several times with his mother, where his struggles with drug abuse were part of her storyline on the show.
Mary Cosby told the site in a statement, “Our beloved son Robert Jr. has been called home to the Lord. Though our hearts ache, we take comfort in God’s promise and in knowing he is finally at peace. We are grateful for your prayers and trust in the Lord to carry us through this time of sorrow.”
Cosby has been a cast member on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City since the show premiered in 2020. In 2021, accusers, including Cosby’s own sister and cousin, alleged that Cosby’s Faith Temple Church, where she’s acted as “First Lady” since 1998, is actually a cult.
Last month, TLC released a three-episode documentary about the allegations called The Cult of the Real Housewife.
“She’s got these people terrified. That woman is the most evil thing that ever walked this Earth. You have no idea, all those smiles and s--t—that is not real,” a former church member told the Daily Beast in 2021. Cosby left the series’s Season 2 as the controversy unfolded, returning in a limited role in Season 4, before rejoining full-time for the show’s fifth and sixth seasons.
Robert Jr. opened up about his struggles with drug abuse when he appeared on the series’s Season 5 at 21 years old, telling his mother that he had often experimented with prescription drugs. Following the revelations, Mary Cosby revealed in December 2024 that Robert Jr. had spent a month in rehab, after which she said he “came out a new person.”
Yet, Robert Jr.’s trouble continued. In September, he was arrested after he was accused of attempting to break into his father-in-law’s home through a doggy door and assaulting an unidentified victim.
He faced multiple charges, including failure to stop at the command of law enforcement, criminal trespassing, assault, and three court order violations. In November, Cosby Jr. pleaded guilty to eight charges and served two months in jail, then was released on Feb. 3.
Robert Jr. was married to Alexiana Smokoff before they split in November, and their divorce was finalized in January. The younger Cosby aspired to be a fashion designer.
