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Mary Cosby Mary Cosby has been a fixture on Bravo's
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Known for her lavish lifestyle of expensive champagne,
designer clothes, and organized religion, Mary took over her family's church and restaurant
empire after marrying her late grandmother's second husband, Robert Cosby, Sr, aka
her step-grandfather. They have now been married 20 years and have a son together.
When she married Robert, she inherited her grandmother's multimillion-dollar estate
and–rumor has it–turned her grandmother's Faith Temple Pentecostal Church into a cult. Robert is
a pastor, and Mary is the Pentecostal First Lady. Former church members have spoken out
against their leader, alleging that she calls herself "God," tricks people into
working for the church for meager wages, and condemns people to hell who don't follow her.
Designer Everything Mary's closet overflows
with Louis Vuitton and Chanel. On television, all of her rooms are cluttered with designer items.
She insists that her millions come from family inheritance, not the church. But church members,
viewers, and community members aren't convinced that church donations are being used on behalf
of the faith. In addition to control over Faith Temple, she inherited a chain of salons
and restaurants and has a hand in several other businesses. She and her husband own five homes
and apartments in Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, New York City, Orlando, and Carmel, Indiana. When they
aren't there, they rent them out for extra cash. Her net worth is easily in the multi-millions.
Rosemary "Mama" Cosby Rosemary "Mama" Redmon Cosby,
Mary's grandmother, said God called upon her to start the Faith Temple Pentecostal Church
in Salt Lake City. So, she packed up her four kids and moved from Indianapolis to Salt Lake City.
In 1975, she married Robert, who was 20 years younger than her. He became the Bishop of her
new church. Photos of her with Jesus adorned the walls, and she amassed quite a following. Ever
the entrepreneur, Mama made a decent profit from her church and other businesses. Unlike members
of her church, many of whom lived paycheck to paycheck, Mama used her fortune to buy four homes.
Mama said that the Faith Temple was not like other churches because God spoke directly
through her. Worshippers relied on her to communicate the word of God instead of listening
to some minister's interpretation of the Bible. At its peak in the 1990s, the church had 500 guests
at Sunday mass. Mama encouraged congregants to work for the church in some capacity,
even if they had another full-time job. They worked for free or earned far below
the minimum wage. Becoming a member of the church meant complete devotion to Mama's word.
Mama died of heart failure in 1997. But her daughter, Rosalind Cazares,
had suspicions about her death. She said Mama was in perfect health before her death
and thought maybe her stepfather, Robert, had something to do with her untimely passing.
An autopsy ruled that she died of natural causes, but Cazeres' fight for justice didn't stop there.
The Great Divide Mama always felt guilty for marrying
such a young man and robbing him of his youth. So, she told him that if she died before him,
he should marry one of her girls, who would take care of him just like she did. That's where Mary
comes in. Mary is Mama's granddaughter, and she married her step-grandfather per Mama's wishes.
Mary says that Mama wanted this so that Mary could inherit the wealth, businesses, and of course,
the church. Since Robert isn't related by blood and is only 20 years older than Mary,
Mama thought it would be the perfect way for her granddaughter to partake in the family empire.
Mary was 25 and Robert was 45 when they got married.
As you might expect, it was a controversial marriage that divided the church and it was
often a subject of discussion on Real Housewives. After Robert and Mary got together, Cazares left
Faith Temple and started her own church, with about 200 of Faith Temple's former congregants.
She also filed lawsuits against Robert, claiming that he mishandled Mama's estate
and forged documents on her behalf. She won the case in 2007 and was awarded $1.2 million.
Pastor Mary Cosby After Mama died,
Mary became the Pentecostal First Lady of Faith Temple. Members say leadership declined
significantly due to Mary's verbal attacks and emphasis on money over faith. She didn't have
the same charisma and spirituality that Mama had. In one sermon posted on YouTube and revealed in an
Andy Cohen Real Housewives reunion episode, she called her congregation poor and stingy because
of the lack of church donations and birthday cards she received. Though not uncommon for
congregants to pay ten percent of their income to a religious organization, Mama and Mary asked for
much more. And they shamed members who didn't give 'enough.' One member said that people were forced
into poverty because they had to give Faith Temple half of their minimum wage salaries. Another said
her family never had money for Christmas presents because all extra funds had to go to the church.
One member was injured in a car accident and had to give his entire settlement to Faith Temple.
No matter their financial standing, church members were forced to give more money than they
could afford. Even if they gave everything they could, they were shamed for not giving enough.
While Mama was always transparent about where the funds were going,
Robert had a taste for the finer things. When Mama married him,
it seemed like less funds were going towards the church and more towards luxury items. Mary,
also known for her expensive taste, continued down this path when she married Robert.
Salt in the Wound Church members always knew Mary and Robert
were wealthy after inheriting Mama's businesses. But they did not realize the degree of their
wealth until watching them on Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Their extravagant mansion,
Mary's closet overflowing with designer clothes, her taste for expensive liquor—were all a slap
in the face to a struggling congregation. Many members believe that Mary is undermining
fundamental Christian beliefs by using church funds to pay for her luxurious lifestyle.
To make matters worse, Mary insisted that congregants call her God and condemned them
to hell should they not follow her teachings. She told people that God
communicated with her directly and they should be afraid if they disobeyed her.
In a promo for season two of Real Housewives,
Mary defends herself by saying, "I'm not God–I worship the God in me."
The Cosby Cult Word of Mary's "cult"
spread beyond the church and throughout Salt Lake City. In an episode of Real Housewives,
cast member Lisa Barlow sat down with Salt Lake City community leader Cameron
Williams to talk about Faith Temple. They agreed that Faith Temple is, in fact,
a cult that has dangerously influenced people to submit themselves to poverty and verbal attacks.
A church member named Abby left the Faith Temple in the 90s,
calling Mary "the most evil thing that ever walked this Earth."
Another former congregant Ralph Arnold Jr. said that the Church "has gone to ruin" because Mary
doesn't practice the Christian values she preaches and verbally bullies her members
into submission. She uses their loyalty to Mama as a way to keep members and
threatens them with eternal damnation if they choose to leave the temple.
Other church members mentioned the "shady" stuff behind closed doors and
the ensuing anger when Mary broadcasted her excessive life on Real Housewives.
People are afraid to go to church but also afraid not to go to church.
Though current members deny that it's a cult, Faith Temple has some cult-like qualities,
including former members being ousted and shunned. Current members are told not to
speak to former members, which has resulted in broken friendships and severed family ties.
Mary's own uncle called the church a "cult" and an "abomination."
White-Collar Housewives The Real Housewives of Salt Lake
City drama continued in the public eye when fellow cast member Jen Shah was charged with
defrauding hundreds of people out of millions of dollars. She and her assistant Stuart Smith
apparently ran a telemarketing scheme that sold nonexistent services such as tax preparation,
coaching, and website design that targeted older people who didn't know how to work a computer.
47-year old Shah was arrested while Bravo cameras rolled for season two. Shah and Smith were charged
with conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering, with a possible sentence of up to
thirty years behind bars. Shah pleaded not guilty to both charges with bail set at $1 million.
Another housewife has been at the center of national news. The Real Housewives of Beverly
Hills' Erika Girardi's ex-husband, Tom, was accused of misusing millions of client dollars.
Tom, the lawyer who partially inspired the film Erin Brokovich,
owes over $56 million to clients, creditors, and lenders. Erika, commonly known as Erika Jayne,
denies any involvement. However, she was recently exposed for embezzling millions
of dollars from plane crash victims with the help of her now ex-husband.
Ratings It seems like Bravo
knows how to pick the right cast members, who are constantly involved in scandals.
But how? And how are these women still allowed to be on television? Well, allowing these infamous
women to continue in the spotlight isn’t a moral win for society, but it IS a financial win
for Bravo. The bigger the scandal, the bigger the audience, and the better the ratings.
The season one finale of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City dipped to almost 500,000 viewers,
a major blow to the franchise. The Real Housewives of Atlanta, New York,
and Beverly Hills have nearly 1 million viewers per episode. But
just when it seemed like The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City wasn't exciting enough,
Lisa Barlow accused Mary Cosby of running a cult. The drama with Mary's Faith Temple was
just what Bravo needed to increase viewership for season two. The premiere shot up to over
800,000 and remained pretty strong for the rest of the season. Things don't look
promising for season three since Jen Shah and Mary Cosby chose not to return to the show.
Pray for an End Season two was a
wild ride for The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. In episode one,
Jen Shah was arrested. In episode two, rumors of Mary Cosby being a cult leader came to light.
Still, she denies the accusations. No legal action has been taken against her.
It seems like Mary's role in Christianity has finally dwindled. Due to the pandemic,
Cosby had to close her church and transition her faith to a podcast.
However, the podcast has been known to stray from its faith-based mission when Ms. Cosby
addressed rumors and allegations that came to light from fellow Real Housewives cast members.
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Let us know in the comment section whether or not you think prosperity preachers are scammers!