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For some parents, talking about their child’s drug addiction on national TV might seem like a regrettable decision, but Mary Cosby, star of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” believes it’s “the best thing” her family has done.
“It’s a fine line between putting your kids out there and then protecting them,” she tells TODAY.com in an exclusive interview. “It was just something that I questioned all the way up until it aired.”
In the stunningly emotional scene in a November episode of the reality TV show, Cosby sat down with her only child, Robert Jr., 22, to address why he was pulling away from her.
The ensuing conversation showed the mother telling her son, “You’ve got to be real, you’ve got to talk to me.” He responded that he took Xanax the night before to help him fall asleep and Adderall to “balance out the Xanax.” He went on to disclose that he had been using drugs recreationally since he turned 16, including cocaine, acid and molly.
“I won’t judge you,” a devastated Cosby answered. “I can try to help you, but you have to help yourself, because I’m not going to support it. I’m not. You know I’m not.”
Her son then shared that he “felt like a stain” and that his mother was “the only reason” he didn’t kill himself. After a cathartic exchange of tears, Cosby answered, “Recognize it, own it and change it, because you can.” As they hugged, she whispered, “I love you so much.”
Cosby says she was appreciative of how the public responded after the scene aired.
“I went into it in the unknown of how it was going to be received, and when it was received in such a positive light, people responded (with) love and it touched them. … I couldn’t have been more satisfied,” she says.
One social media user wrote, “She was so gentle in the way she talked with him 😭.”
“He was waiting to be asked…I was blown away by his genuine honesty. I really hope this helps other kids feel safe to open up, be honest & get the help,” commented another.
Andy Cohen even called it “one of the most raw, real and heart-wrenching” moments in the Bravo franchise’s history during a November episode of “Watch What Happens Live.” (Bravo is owned by TODAY.com’s parent company, NBCUniversal.)
Cosby tells TODAY.com that she’s a “helicopter mom” who wants to “protect my son at all costs,” so it was a challenging decision to be so public about the conversation. But the response has both motivated Robert Jr. to continue his recovery and made her feel confident the scene had a powerful impact.
Before the scene aired, Cosby says she was contacted by tabloids threatening to publish that Robert Jr. was in rehab. “I was like, well, I’m just going to let this air, and then they can all just be quiet,” she says. “It really worked.”
Cosby says there wasn’t much preparation that went into the conversation. She simply told her son, “I’m going to sit down, and it probably will be in front of the cameras, so I’m going to need you to be honest.”
Like viewers, she learned of the extent of his drug use in that moment. “I just didn’t see all that coming,” she recalls. “I didn’t know he was going to say all that. I was in the moment … and it shocked me, and it hurt me. It just made me feel like, ‘Oh my god. How did I miss the cues?'”
“It wasn’t planned,” she continues. “What came out of him was real, and what came out of me was real. And I think that’s why it went across so good, because we weren’t doing it for any sole reason. We were doing it because that’s our relationship.”
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