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When a documentary trailer opens with “Mary was married to her step-grandfather,” you know you’re in for a wild ride. If you’ve always wondered what really went on behind the scenes of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Mary Cosby’s life, this three-part docuseries finally pulls back the curtain—and it’s messier than any Housewives dinner party. Fortunately, finding out how to watch The Cult of the Real Housewife live for free is way less dramatic.
How to Watch The Cult of the Real Housewife at a Glance
Watch The Cult of the Real Housewife Live for Free
If you’ve been following The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City since its 2020 debut, Mary Cosby has been an enigma from day one. Her unconventional marriage to her step-grandfather, her extravagant lifestyle, and cryptic comments about her congregation raised eyebrows throughout her time on the show. Mary appeared in the first two seasons before stepping away, but questions about her family’s Faith Temple Pentecostal Church and her leadership style never went away—questions The Cult of the Real Housewife now seeks to answer.
The docuseries traces Faith Temple’s journey from its founding by Mary’s grandmother, Rosemary “Mama” Cosby, through the controversial transfer of leadership after her death and Robert Cosby Sr.’s marriage to Mary. For longtime Housewives fans, the documentary promises to address what really happens inside Faith Temple and how Mary’s reality TV fame intersected with her role as First Lady of the church.
Former congregation members speak out for the first time, including the Enoch family and Mary’s own relatives—her sister Denise Jefferson Odinaka, cousin Dan Cosby, and cousin-in-law Kim Cosby. The series also features popular Bravo podcaster Adam Newell from Up and Adam!, whose deep knowledge of the Real Housewives universe brings crucial context to the spiritual and financial misconduct allegations. With access to recordings of controversial sermons and extensive archival footage, the docuseries examines one burning question: how have Mary and Robert Cosby Sr. managed to avoid accountability for so long?
How to watch The Cult of the Real Housewife live for free
The Cult of the Real Housewife premieres Thursday, January 1, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET on TLC, with all three episodes airing back-to-back from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET. If you’ve cut the cord or never had cable to begin with, streaming services that carry TLC make it easy to watch with free trial options.
DirecTV Stream delivers TLC across all its packages and offers a five-day free trial to get you through premiere night. Plans start at $89.99 per month once the trial period ends. Sling TV provides TLC through its Blue package at $45.99 per month, making it a solid mid-range choice for reality TV fans. Hulu + Live TV bundles TLC access at $89.99 per month alongside Disney+, Hulu’s entire on-demand library, and ESPN+ for maximum entertainment value.
If you prefer to wait and binge the series on-demand, Max offers all three episodes starting January 2, 2026. Max’s ad-supported tier starts at $10.99 per month or $16.99 monthly for the ad-free version. Discovery+ also streams the docuseries starting January 2, with plans at $5.99 per month with ads or $9.99 monthly ad-free.
Best Overall & EDITOR’S PICK
Watch The Cult of the Real Housewife with DirecTV Stream
– Free trial: 5 days
– Includes local networks and 90+ channels
The real advantage here is the five-day free trial, which gives you plenty of time to watch all three episodes of Cult of the Real Housewife as they air consecutively on New Year’s Day. Our editors tested every major streaming service with free trials in 2025, and DirecTV Stream consistently ranked at the top for its generous trial period, wide channel selection, and dependable streaming quality—making it the ideal choice for catching Mary Cosby’s documentary debut.
Best Flexible Pick
Watch The Cult of the Real Housewife with Sling TV
– Daily, weekend, and weekly passes
– 30+ channels
While Sling TV doesn’t offer a free trial at this time, it does have flexibility with short-term passes. You can grab a Day Pass for $4.99 to watch all three episodes as they air on New Year’s Day, a Weekend Pass for $9.99, or a Week Pass for $14.99—perfect if you only want to tune in for this specific documentary without committing to a monthly subscription. Pay once, watch what you want, and walk away.
Best Bundle Pick
Watch The Cult of the Real Housewife with Hulu + Live TV
– Free trial: 3 days
– Large library of shows, movies, and Hulu Originals
The main appeal here is convenience if you’re already watching reality TV across multiple platforms. Stream the Mary Cosby documentary live, then switch over to catch up on other Bravo shows in Hulu’s library or binge The Kardashians on Disney+ without juggling separate logins or subscriptions.
What is The Cult of the Real Housewife about?
The Cult of the Real Housewife is a three-part investigative documentary that digs into The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Mary Cosby and the Faith Temple Pentecostal Church she runs with her husband and step-grandfather, Robert Cosby Sr. (Yes, you read that right—husband and step-grandfather are the same person.) The series tackles allegations of spiritual and financial misconduct that have swirled around Mary and the church for years, whispers that started long before Bravo cameras showed up but exploded once she became a reality TV personality.
Through interviews with former church members, family members willing to go on record for the first time, investigative journalists, and cult experts, the documentary traces how Faith Temple went from a beloved institution founded by Mary’s grandmother, Rosemary “Mama” Cosby, to the center of serious controversy after leadership transferred following Mama Cosby’s death in 1997.
The series examines how that transfer became tangled up with Robert Cosby Sr. marrying his step-granddaughter Mary—a bombshell that shocked RHOSLC viewers when it first came out on the show—and looks into the church’s “heave offerings” that allegedly pressured members to donate huge sums of money. With actual recordings of controversial sermons and tons of archival footage, the documentary investigates claims of cult-like control while exploring how Mary’s reality TV stardom complicated an already messy situation.
If you’ve watched Mary give cryptic non-answers and get defensive about her church on RHOSLC, this documentary finally connects the dots. It’s the context behind all those awkward moments—and it explains how Mary and Robert have sidestepped accountability despite years of questions from former congregants and the public.
Who appears in The Cult of the Real Housewife?
The Cult of the Real Housewife features testimony and accounts from multiple sources with direct knowledge of Faith Temple Pentecostal Church and the Cosby family. Here’s the confirmed list of participants:
- Mary Cosby (The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City original cast member and First Lady of Faith Temple – archival footage only, not participating in the documentary)
- Robert Cosby Sr. (Bishop of Faith Temple and Mary’s husband – archival footage and sermon recordings)
- Denise Jefferson Odinaka (Mary’s sister)
- Dan Cosby (Mary’s cousin)
- Kim Cosby (Mary’s cousin-in-law)
- The Enoch family (former Faith Temple congregation members)
- Adam Newell (Bravo podcaster)
- Various investigative journalists and bloggers who have covered the story
- Cult expert providing analysis on mind-control tactics
- Former Faith Temple congregation members speaking publicly for the first time
Jenzia Burgos
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