The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City has yet to premiere, but one of the RHOSLC stars is already making headlines based on quite a background story.
While each of the new RHOSLC cast members comes into the show with a unique path to success, Mary Cosby certainly has the most interesting one, with viewers seeking the details about her story.
That’s because reports indicate she took over the family business after marrying her grandmother’s second husband. It sounds crazy, but it’s true.
Mary Cosby really married her late grandma’s second husband
In a story that seems made for a soap opera or reality television, Mary Cosby truly married her grandmother’s second husband.
Mary’s grandmother, Dr. Rosemary “Mama” Cosby, owned many successful businesses, including a hair salon and a radio station, among others. She also founded the Faith Temple Pentecostal Church in Salt Lake City in 1968.
Robert C. Cosby joined the church where he met Rosemary, who was 20 years older than him, per Desert News. They were married in 1975. They remained married for 22 years until Mama Cosby passed away due to a heart attack in 1997.
Upon Rosemary’s death, her husband, Bishop Robert C. Cosby, inherited her various businesses.
In a shocker, Rosemary’s 24-year-old granddaughter Mary Martha Harris (now Mary Cosby) and Bishop Cosby got married in 1998, which was just one year after Rosemary’s death. It meant that Mary basically married her step-grandfather. They now share one child together.
According to her Bravo bio, the marriage was a requirement in order for Mary to inherit all of Rosemary’s family businesses. It has brought her to a lucrative lifestyle, and now a starring role as part of the RHOSLC cast.
However, there’s even more to the story based on some rather interesting accusations about Robert and legal battles.
Rosemary’s cause of death, lawsuits, and allegations
Following Rosemary Cosby’s death, her daughter Rosalind Cazares and Bishop Robert C. Cosby became part of an intense probate battle. Rosalind even alleged Robert Cosby may have been involved in her grandmother’s death.
According to the Orlando Sentinel’s report in August 1999, the probate battle led to a Salt Lake City judge ordering the exhumation of the remains of Rosemary “Mama” Cosby to determine her cause of death.
Rosalind indicated that her 65-year-old grandmother had been in good health prior to her death.
Bishop Cosby called the accusations “ludicrous and ridiculous.” He said that the exhumation of his late wife’s body was like “putting salt on a wound — it just burns and hurts.”
In 2000, an autopsy determined that Mama Cosby died of natural causes.
However, in 2007, Rosalind filed another lawsuit against Bishop Robert C. Cosby. Per the Salt Lake Tribune, Rosalind alleged that her stepfather was “mishandling the estate’s assets and conspiring to deprive her of her share of her mother’s fortune.”
One lawsuit resulted in a jury awarding $1.2 million in damages to Rosalind to be paid through the estate, but it’s unknown if Cazares was paid.
Nonetheless, the entire story of Mary Cosby marrying her late grandmother’s second husband could make for some interesting television, if and when it arrives on the new Bravo series.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City premieres November 11 at 10/9c on Bravo.