“Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Mary Cosby’s son, Robert Cosby Jr., has died. He was 23.
He was found dead after officers “responded to an overdose call that turned into a death investigation” on Feb. 23, a Salt Lake City Police Department spokesperson confirmed to Page Six on Wednesday.
Shortly after news broke of her son’s death, Mary spoke out, saying she knows “he is finally at peace.”
“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,” the reality star wrote via Instagram.
The Cosby family’s attorney, Clinton Simms, also exclusively tells Page Six, “Robert Sr. and Mary Cosby are mourning the loss of their beloved son, Robert Clinton Cosby, Jr. His untimely passing is hard to comprehend, and the Cosbys are struggling to understand how someone so young and full of life could be gone so soon. Robert Jr.’s warm spirit, humor and kind heart will be missed.”
“This loss is sudden, and the family asks for privacy during this difficult time,” he adds.
TMZ was the first to report on the death.
Bravo’s head honcho, Andy Cohen, publicly gave his condolences, writing via Instagram Threads, “Devastatingly sad news out of SLC. This is every parent’s worst nightmare. My heart is broken for Mary, and I am sending all my love to her and Robert Sr.”
Robert Jr. died after his estranged wife, Alexiana Smokoff, filed for divorce after three years of marriage in November. The exes secretly tied the knot at a Utah courthouse in August 2022.
Robert’s struggle with drugs was featured in the Bravo show, including during Season 6, which was filmed in early 2025.
In one episode, Robert confessed to his mom that he was “at a standstill” in his recovery after finishing a 30-day rehab program.
“I’m not in that dark place, but, like, it’s still there, if that makes sense,” he said, explaining that it’s challenging not to do something ritually anymore.
Later that season, it was revealed that Robert had relapsed.
Robert also had a history of run-ins with the law, which Mary shed light on during the Season 6 reunion in January.
During the episode, the Bravolebrity emotionally revealed that her son was arrested in November and was serving time in jail after allegedly violating a restraining order put in place by Alexiana’s family.
“[Her family] filed a restraining order against him, and he went back anyway, thinking that she want[ed] him to come back and save her,” Mary said. “I don’t know where he’s getting that from … delusional.”
“I’m not worried about him,” Mary said, while visibly upset. “I know he’s somewhere where he’s not using.
“At some point, I have to step back so that he can learn and he can make his own decisions, and unfortunately, he’s learning the hard way. But I’m OK with it … And I’d rather him be there than dead, you know?”
Mary shared that she refused to visit Robert in jail and look at him from behind the glass.
However, she assured viewers that she and Robert talked every day on the phone and her husband, Robert Cosby Sr., was sending him “a lot of books.”
