10 Bombshells from the Mary Cosby Docuseries ‘The Cult of the Real Housewife’

A new docuseries accuses The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Mary Cosby and her husband, Robert Cosby Sr., of turning the church started by Mary’s grandmother into a cult — and the shocking allegations don’t stop there.

TLC’s The Cult of the Real Housewife, which premiered on Jan. 1, takes a deep dive into Salt Lake City’s Faith Temple Pentecostal Church, which is led by Mary and Robert Sr. The couple took over the church after Mary’s grandmother and the church’s founder, Dr. Rosemary “Mama” Redmon Cosby, died in 1997 — and Mary married Rosemary’s widowed husband (and her former step-grandfather), Robert Sr.

While their unconventional marriage has caused a stir since Mary joined RHOSLC in 2020, some former Faith Temple members allege in the docuseries that their union is more than just odd. In the three episodes, several ex-congregants accuse Mary and Robert Sr. of financial abuse, cult-like practices and an extramarital affair.

“Mary is responsible for destroying the church and the legacy that was attached to it,” Michael Enoch, a former Faith Temple member, claimed in the docuseries.

Mary, who has previously denied allegations that Faith Temple is a cult, has not publicly addressed any of the specific accusations made in the documentary. The same is true of her husband, Robert Sr. Their representative has not responded to multiple requests for comment from PEOPLE.

However, Mary called the project “sad and a shame” when asked about it at BravoCon 2025. “It’s horrible, that’s what I think,” she said. “And it’s not true.”

Here’s everything to know about the biggest bombshells alleged in The Cult of the Real Housewife.

Mary’s cousin claimed she had an affair with a former congregation member

In the docuseries, Mary’s first cousin, Dan Cosby, alleged that ex-Faith Temple congregant Cameron Williams told him over the phone that he’d had an affair with Mary.

Dan said that during the phone call, which was apparently recorded and played in parts in the documentary, Cameron claimed Mary had come to his house and asked him to play certain music. After they sat down together, Cameron allegedly told Dan that Mary grabbed his hand and began “rubbing her.”

“According to Cameron, he put his hand in her vagina,” Dan claimed. “I said, ‘What?’ ”

Then, Dan said Cameron alleged that he and Mary “had sex.”

The docuseries alleges that Cameron also told another former congregant, Ernest Enoch, about his tryst with Mary, as well as Mary’s older sister, Denise Jefferson Odinaka.

“He said, ‘Me and Mary had an affair,” Ernest claimed in the documentary. “I said, this is crazy … these people are ministers. They’re supposed to be preaching.”

Cameron died in 2021 from complications from brain tumor surgery. Mary’s representative has not responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Mary and Robert Sr. allegedly demanded money from their congregants

Several ex-congregants of Faith Temple claimed in the documentary that Mary and Robert Sr. pressured church members into making financial donations, known as “heave offerings.” Initially, these heave offerings would occur “every six months,” according to Rosalind Enoch, a former Faith Temple member.

But then, “it started to increase over time,” she alleged. “We could’ve just had a heave offering meeting, and then in another week or two, we’re having another meeting where we’re being told there’s an emergency and they need $100,000. They need it by Thursday. The worst announcement you could hear when you walked into that church is, ’Tell everybody don’t leave. We need to have an emergency saints meeting.’ You knew it was going to be about money.”

Rosalind alleged that during these heave meetings, Robert Sr. would instruct ushers stand in front of the doors so that members couldn’t leave. Once, she even texted her debit card number to the member who collected the funds, she said.

“It was a lot. This money is getting bigger and bigger,” Rosalind claimed. “There were people cashing out 401(k)s, losing homes. It got to be a financial embarrassment for some.”

Robert Sr. was allegedly physically abusive to younger boys in Faith Temple

After marrying Rosemary in 1975, Robert Sr. and other elders within the church began holding meetings with the young boys in the congregation every Saturday. These meetings, which were known as “the brotherhood,” were “trying to teach us to be men,” Dan said in the docuseries.

Initially, the meetings involved having the boys do physical activities, such as running or push-ups. But then, “it started becoming abusive,” Dan alleged.

In The Cult of the Real Housewife, Dan alleged that Robert Sr. and other elders would have them do military-style drills “literally all day.” Dan also claimed that Robert Sr. and the other elders once stuck pins under their knees to keep them compliant.

Rosemary was informed about the alleged abuse by one of their children, claimed Sam Kelly, Rosemary and Robert Sr.’s son (and Mary’s uncle). Rosemary then put a stop to the brotherhood meetings.

Mary was allegedly “disfellowshipped” from the church by her grandmother

Mary was supposedly a “troublemaker” growing up, according to Rosalind and Michael. She was allegedly known for being wild, frequently running away and liking “dudes with a reputation and a little bit of money,” Michael said. At one point, Mary allegedly stole her older sister Denise’s car and took off for two weeks, Denise claimed.

“She was doing stuff that was bringing reproach on the church,” Denise alleged in the docuseries. “My grandmother knew and she couldn’t continue to let Mary get away with that, which is why she got disfellowshipped.”

Being disfellowshipped was Faith Temple’s way of excommunicating its members. “You are not allowed to participate in the service until you find your way back to God,” Kim Cosby, Dan’s wife and a former Faith Temple member, explained in The Cult of the Real Housewife.

Mary was allegedly still disfellowshipped when her grandmother, Rosemary, unexpectedly died in 1997.

Mary’s grandmother allegedly didn’t leave Mary her church or stipulate that she marry Robert Sr.

Mary has repeatedly claimed on RHOSLC that her marriage to Robert Sr. was arranged by her grandmother, Rosemary.

“Before she passed, she made it very clear that she wanted me to be the one to take her place in the church and inherit everything,” Mary said in season 1 of the Bravo reality series. “That came with homes, money, our church and also marrying her husband.”

However, in The Cult of the Real Housewife, Denise claimed that this wasn’t true. Instead, she alleged that Mary began spending time with Robert Sr. after Rosemary’s death, and Robert Sr. bought her a BMW.

“Some of the things that she’s saying about it being an inheritance … [it] is one of the biggest lies that she’s told,” Denise claimed in the docuseries. “For [Robert Sr.] to allow her to get on TV and say, ‘Mama wanted her to have this and that and the other,’ he knows better.”

Mary and her siblings were allegedly on welfare

In the season 5 premiere of RHOSLC, Mary argued with fellow cast member Britani Bateman after Britani tried to bond with Mary over their supposedly “poor” upbringings. Mary was deeply offended by the comment and claimed that she was never “poor” — a statement that her sister, Denise, refuted in the docuseries.

“Mary says a lot of things, and it’s just contradictory to the way that we were raised and the way that we came up,” Denise claimed. “We were on the welfare and we didn’t have anything and the struggle was always there.”

She continued, “Don’t get on TV talking about you had money, because you know that that’s not the case.”

Mary married Robert Sr. 19 days after divorcing her first husband

Mary has previously denied on the season 1 reunion of RHOSLC that there was any overlap between her marriage to her first husband, a man named Dana. She told host Andy Cohen that she and Dana split over “irreconcilable differences” and that it had “nothing to do” with Robert Sr.

However, in the docuseries, investigative journalist Cheyenne Roundtree appeared to show court documents suggesting that Mary and Robert Sr. were married on Sept. 25, 1998. Meanwhile, her divorce from Dana was allegedly signed on Sept. 8, 1998 — 19 days prior.

“The timeline shows there was some crossover happening,” Cheyenne claimed in the docuseries. “Mary’s not telling the full story about what happened.”

Mary and Robert Sr. reportedly expected some Faith Temple members to work for free

As the bishop and first lady of Faith Temple, Robert Sr. and Mary allegedly expected congregation members to work for free at their home. Rosalind claimed that she worked in their home as a personal assistant and housekeeper for five years and was “never paid.”

“They had people cleaning. They had people doing bills. They had people grocery shopping,” Susie Tunson, a former Faith Temple member, claimed in the docuseries.

Rosalind also shared stories of how Robert Sr. and Mary allegedly treated another congregation member and household worker, Susie’s sister Pat Tunson. Rosalind alleged that Robert Sr. and Mary were verbally abusive towards Pat.

“Robert and Mary talked to Pat so badly,” Rosalind claimed. “Things like, ‘You’re a slave, you’re going to work here until you die because if you don’t, you’re going to die anyway and you’re going to hell.’ ”

Pat died in 2024 at the age of 81 of natural causes while working for Mary and Robert.

Robert Sr. and Mary were accused of harassing a church member

In the docuseries, Kim accused Robert Sr. and Mary of harassing her. According to Kim’s account, Robert Sr. and Mary first began targeting her after the three of them took a trip to California together. Following the trip, Mary contacted Kim and claimed that she “wanted her life,” including Robert Sr.

“Robert was my husband’s grandfather,” Kim alleged on the docuseries. “That’s the way I looked at him.”

As a result, Kim claims she was forced to attend counseling sessions at Robert Sr. and Mary’s house. The sessions, where Kim was accused of having “Satan’s traits” of jealousy and envy, became “more frequent and more intense” — until they were occurring daily, Dan alleged.

When she wasn’t at their house for the purported sessions, Kim would allegedly receive incessant text messages from Mary and Robert Sr.

“If I saw their name on the phone, I would get full-blown physical anxiety,” Kim claimed. “It was like torture.”

Mary’s congregation members allegedly believe she is God

Members of Faith Temple allegedly believe that Mary and Robert Sr. are God, according to six members who spoke to Cheyenne for her September 2021 The Daily Beast story.

The docuseries also provided alleged footage of Mary preaching at Faith Temple, in which she seemingly tells her congregants that she is the “one mediator between God and man.”

“In Faith Temple, Mary and Bishop took the place of God and we paid for it,” Denise claimed.