'RHOSLC': Who is Mary Cosby? Housewife who married step-grandpa accused of murdering grandma for family fortune
Ever since Bravo released the cast bios and trailer of the new 'Real Housewives' franchise, 'Real Housewives of Salt Lake City', fans haven't been able to stop talking about one particular housewife, Mary Cosby. In the trailer we see Jen Shah angrily yelling about Mary marrying her grandfather, her Bravo bio too confirms the same. Bravo managed to captivate everybody's attention with Mary's rather interesting marriage, and fans have been wondering why Mary decided to marry her grandfather, although admittedly he is her step-grandfather, fans are still intrigued by it, and want to know more about it.
According to Mary's cast bio, Mary loves God, couture and the finest champagne. She is described as the "Pentecostal First Lady who inherited her family’s empire of churches, restaurants, and more". But her path to inheritance involved her having to marry her step-grandfather. "The caveat in her taking over the family business was that she marry her late grandmother’s second husband, Robert Cosby Sr. They have since been married for 20 years and have one teenage son together. Small but mighty and always dressed to the nines, her unconventional past has made her guarded and she quickly finds herself on shaky ground with some of the ladies," reads her bio.
So, we now know that she married her step-grandfather to take over the family business empire. But who exactly is this grandfather who was okay with marrying his granddaughter? But before we get to the topic of her grandfather, let us first take a look at her grandmother, and how she built such a flourishing business empire. Mary's grandmother, Dr Rosemary Redmon Cosby, was born in 1931, to Thomas and Myrtle Kelly Redmon in Indiana. Rosie was a deeply religious woman, who received a Doctor of Divinity Degree from the Trinity Hall College and Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. According to AllAbouttheTea, Rosie had four children by the age of 29, in 1960.
No details of her children's father were found. In 1960, Rosie reportedly believed that God was telling her to go to Salt Lake City, Utah. So, she decided to move there with her four children. Since she didn't have much money on her, she had to walk, and hitchhike to get there. Once she arrived at Salt Lake City, she started a church in her living room. In 1968, she founded the Faith Temple Pentecostal Church. In 1975, at the age of 42, Rosie married her second husband- Bishop Robert C Cosby, who was just 22 at that time.
They later purchased a large church and relocated the Faith Temple Pentecostal Church. They went on to set up Faith Temple Pentecostal Church in Indiana too. In 1997, Rosie died of heart failure at 65. Following her death, Robert and her daughter, Rosalinda Cazares, were appointed personal representatives of Rosie's estate, that included a restaurant, churches, daycare and several other businesses across Utah and Indiana. But Rosalinda believed that Robert had murdered her mother. Owing to Rosalinda's allegations, Rosie's body was exhumed, and an autopsy was performed upon it. The coroner declared that Rosie had died of natural causes.
But their battle continued, as Rosalinda accused Robert of mismanaging the estate's finances, and even forging Rosie's signatures to claim her property. A lawsuit was filed, and Rosalind was awarded $1.2 million in damages by the jury, which was to be paid through the estate. Amidst these legal battles, and allegations of murder, Robert married his granddaughter, Mary, in 1998, when she was only 24. Mary is currently 47, and her husband Robert is 68. The couple have a teenage son together.
'Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' premiers on Wednesday, November 11, at 10/9c only on Bravo.
