TV star's substance issues explained as mom feels she 'let him down'

16 hours ago 2

During RHOSLC season 5 episode 11, Mary Cosby and her son, Robert Jr, film scenes that people are saying are potentially as “raw” as Real Housewives has ever gotten. The lives of the Bravo show ladies are often portrayed as lavish, fancy, and totally extra. But, this season, it’s clear to see that TV stars aren’t exempt from real-life troubles just like everyone else.

Mary’s son, 21, explains how he’s been battling addiction issues since the age of 16 during The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Robert Jr and his mom break down in tears as they talk about his struggles with substance abuse.

Mary Cosby’s ‘powerful’ scene with Robert Jr

Speaking on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen this November, RHOSLC star Meredith Marks says she recalls Mary “seeming off” in real-time and that she had no idea of Robert Jr’s substance abuse issues back then.

Now, we’re all seeing Mary and Robert’s struggles come to light and while Meredith reflects on being “sad” she was unable to help her friend at the time, viewers are simply heartbroken by the scene.

When Mary and her son sit down to chat on RHOSLC, she asks: “I wanna know, how are you?”

The show then cuts to a confessional where Mary describes her son as “the perfect child” in his youth.

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She says: “He was very good in school. He got straight A’s. When he set his mind to do something, he did it.”

“Very smart, very advanced, that’s the Robert I know, and that’s the Robert I’m trying to reach,” adds Mary.

Speaking to her son on the show, she tells him: “You’ve gotta be real, you gotta talk.”

Robert then tells his mother he’s been “taking Xanax,” before adding that he “just took half to chill out.”

He then explains he “takes an Adderal to balance out the Xanax.”

Mary asks her son “if he sees this as a problem,” adding: “Are you unhappy?”

“No, it just, sometimes I feel like life is just chicken unseasoned but when I get high it’s adding seasoning to it,” he tells his mom.

Speaking of how he started taking substances at the age of 16, Robert Jr says he began “just sticking to natural stuff,” but then he “went to a party and someone gave him a Xanax.”

Mary is brought to tears as her son continues: “Then I started doing Xanax with acid, and then molly with Xanax, Xanax, and cocaine.”

She tells Robert she “won’t judge” him and “will try to help” him, but tells him he has to “help himself.”

“I’m not going to support it,” she tells her son.

Mary feels she ‘let Robert Jr down’

During their conversation, Robert tells his mom at the height of his substance abuse he “wanted to die.”

She sobs and says: “Do you know how that would kill me?”

Robert replies: “I felt like a stain, I just felt like this world wasn’t for me…”

“You’re the only reason I didn’t kill myself,” Mary’s son adds.

Speaking on RHOSLC, Mary admits she knew Robert used to “smoke weed” and “eat edibles,” but she said she “trusted him that that’s where he would stop.”

“I was clearly wrong, I missed the mark…” she adds.

Through tears, Mary tells Robert: “I love you more than anything in this world… you’re my friend, my son, my gift… you’re the only thing that ever made me happy.”

Speaking of Robert Sr on The Real Housewives Aftershow, Mary said: “Before his mom made him go to the army he enjoyed getting high too, I’ve never, I don’t have that to share with him, I can’t see through his eyes, those lenses, but I do understand him and I don’t judge him.”

She adds: “I hope it’ll help someone to bring their families together… I talk about it every day to him. We still have them every day and he does want to change and that’s the only way it’ll work.”

Nowadays, Mary claims her son is “steady” and is “doing good,” since filming the emotional Bravo show scene.

Fans are in awe of Mary and Robert having such a vulnerable conversation on screen.

One person tweets via X (Twitter): “This is the most gut-wrenching housewives episode. So many families are going through this. It was so brave of Mary and Robert jr to have to this candid conversation abt addiction and mental health. My jaw is still on the floor.”

Another says: “Wow I have never cried so hard. Mary and her son are so brave for having this conversation on camera. I hope Robert gets the help he needs. Wow just wow!”

“This scene between Mary and her son is unlike any scene in Housewives history. Their raw honesty and vulnerability is so hard to watch, but so powerful at the same time,” says another viewer.

WATCH THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF SALT LAKE CITY ON BRAVO WEDNESDAYS AT 9/8C

For substance abuse treatment and mental health referrals, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357), or 1-844-289-0879 available 24/7. You can also contact American Addiction Centers for free and confidential advice at (888) 341-9792.

To get help in the UK, you can call Frank on 0300 123 6600 or Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) on 0800 9177 650.

If you are affected by any issues raised in the article or would like someone to speak to, please call or text 988 to reach out and speak to a counselor. You can reach the Crisis Text Line by sending the letters MHA to 741741 or call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if you’re struggling or in crisis.

You can also contact the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or text Talk With Us to 66746.

In the UK, you can contact the Samaritans for free on 116 123. You can also email them at [email protected] or visit Samaritans – Here to listen to find your nearest branch in the UK. You can text SHOUT to 85258 for help, or text YM if you’re under the age of 19. If you’re under 19 you can also call Childline on 0800 1111, and this number won’t appear on your phone bill.