The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Mary Cosby is opening up about her marriage to Robert Sr. — and why fans shouldn’t expect to see him on the Bravo hit anytime soon.
After 27 years together, Mary tells PEOPLE that she and her husband “still love each other.” The reality star adds with a laugh, “I haven’t turned him off. He still cooks for the family, and he’s our rock.”
Mary says Robert Sr. has been a source of unwavering support as their 22-year-old son, Robert Jr., continues his sobriety journey after opening up about his struggles with addiction and mental health on season 5 of RHOSLC. “He always knows what to say, and he always knows how to say it,” she shares. “Truly, I told him the day before I came here, like, ‘You really know me, and I love that.’”
Even after nearly three decades, Mary says their relationship keeps evolving. “You can be married to someone and have no clue who they are even after 30 years — especially when the kids get older and you stop being a mom and you have to be a wife again,” she explains. “You almost have to relearn your husband. But I actually know him.”
The Bravo star adds that she sees them “just getting old together,” noting, “He’s just this solid piece in my life and my son’s life, and we couldn’t do it without him. We could not live life without him.”
Mary has long been open about the unconventional origins of her marriage. As she’s shared on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, she wed Robert Sr. — her late grandmother’s second husband — in what she described as an “arranged” marriage in 1998. “My grandmother told me, for herself, that she wanted me to take her place,” Mary recalled. “Basically, Robert Sr. was 20 years younger than my grandmother. My grandmother felt like she robbed his youth. So she said, ‘If something ever happens, I want you to marry one of my girls, because I know that they will be loyal to you and treat you good like you treated me.’”
But while their story has always fascinated Housewives viewers, Robert Sr. isn’t interested in being part of the drama. “He won’t come on the show for anything,” Mary says. “He’s like, ‘No, that’s for women. That’s not for me.’”
After nearly three decades of marriage, Mary and Robert Sr. continue to go strong — even if only one of them is willing to share their life with the cameras.