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The life of a popular “Real Housewife” is going under the microscope with TLC‘s new docuseries, “The Cult of the Real Housewife,” which takes a look into the controversial marriage and religious practices of “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star, Mary Cosby.
The new series premiered Jan. 1 on TLC and the three episodes are airing throughout the week on the cable channel right now. Don’t have cable? You can livestream the show as it airs on TLC with a free trial to DirecTV. Use the free trial to watch the new Mary Cosby doc online for free. Viewers can also stream the docuseries on HBO Max and discovery+.
You can also watch “The Cult of the Real Housewife” through Philo, a streaming service that includes 70+ live television channels — including TLC — plus access to HBO Max, discovery+ and AMC+. Regularly $33/month, Philo’s current New Year’s deal has your introductory month of service discounted to just $25.
Cosby has been a breakout star on “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” beloved by fans for her candid comments and witty retorts, many of which have become popular reaction memes online. But the 53-year-old Pentecostal preacher has also raised eyebrows on the show with her church’s unconventional practices, and her controversial marriage to her step-grandfather. TLC says the new series “unpacks the allegations behind the headlines and reveals the darker and more unsettling truth.”
“The Cult of the Real Housewife” features archival footage of sermons delivered by Cosby and husband Robert Cosby Sr., along with new interviews with longtime church members, Cosby’s sister and her cousin. The docuseries also promises to “elevate the voices of ex-congregants speaking out for the first time,” while also featuring a “leading cult expert who can offer insight around a playbook designed to enforce loyalty in mind-control cults.”
The topic of whether or not Cosby was a cult leader was briefly brought up by cast members in earlier seasons of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” but the TV star sidestepped any allegations on the reality show and is seemingly friendly with the cast. An episode of the current season of “RHOSLC” even found the women attending a worship service at Cosby’s Faith Temple Pentecostal Church.
Per a press release, the new unauthorized Cosby docuseries, “Traces the dramatic rise of Faith Temple from its founding by the beloved Rosemary ‘Mama’ Cosby, grandmother of Mary Cosby, to her passing, the controversial transfer of leadership, and her husband’s marriage to Mary. This hotly contested bequeathment pushed Faith Temple into a controversial, new era.” The TLC doc also “pulls back the salacious headlines and social media takes to dive deeper and unpack one of the most enduring mysteries at the core of the scandal: how have Mary and Robert Cosby Sr. managed to avoid accountability for so long?”
Cosby hasn’t addressed any of the allegations in the doc, and her last Instagram post was a cheerful 2025 recap. Still, the reality star has turned off comments on her page since the documentary premiered this week.
Watch “The Cult of the Real Housewife” online for free with DirecTV or stream it live or on-demand with a discounted subscription to Philo here.