Nearly a decade after losing her ex-husband, Christian Evans, to tragic suicide, Ricki Lake knows the kind of courage it takes to grieve in public after a loss, and she made Mary Cosby knew she saw that same strength in her.
On Wednesday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Mary Cosby and Ricki Lake took the couch alongside Andy Cohen, discussing Cosby’s return to RHOSLC.
Cohen praised Cosby’s bravery and vulnerability in discussing her son, Robert Jr.’s struggles with mental health and drug addiction on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. He said, “Your faith, you are a real testament to what it means to have strong faith.”
Showing emotional support, Ricki also praised Cosby for her strength. Speaking about losing her ex-husband, she said, “I also am someone who is very accustomed to loss. I lost my husband almost ten years ago. And having to rise in the public and go through this, it’s really a testament to you and your strength.”
She also commended Cosby for handling the situation with grace. “I said to her backstage that I think she is helping. She’s do really doing a service.”
For those unfamiliar, Mary Cosby’s son, Robert Cosby Jr., died on February 23, 2026, following a potential drug overdose. Prior to his passing, Robert Jr. had always been open about his struggles with addiction.
What Happened to Christian Evans?
Ricki Lake and jewelry designer Christian Evans began dating in 2010, eventually eloping in 2012 to tie knots. Soon after, Evans developed severe psychotic episodes, straining the couple’s relationship. After roughly three years of marriage, Lake filed for divorce, though the couple continued an on-and-off relationship out of deep love.
In February 2017, at the age 45, after a long and tolling suffering with bipolar disorder, Evans passed away by suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“It’s a tragedy I don’t think I’ll ever recover from,” Lake told Today two years after Evans’ death.
Several years after, Lake opened up about how tried everything to save her ex-husband. “I went to great lengths to save him; I did everything I could in my power to bring him to the doctor to get him help, and it was really challenging. He had his second psychotic break two years after the first and ultimately took his life in Feb of 2017.”
What Is Ricki Lake Current Relationship Status?
The 58-year-old-actress is currently married to her third husband, Ross Burningham, whom she married in 2022 after dating for roughly a year and a half.
Interestingly, in conversation with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live Cohen, Lake revealed she wasn’t serious with Ross at first. However, things took different turn when they moved into her Malibu mansion together in February 2021, and that very night Ross proposed to her in a jacuzzi.
Even in that moment, the talk show host didn’t forget to credit her ex-husband. She told The New York Times, “I believe Christian orchestrated this whole thing.”
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Ricki Lake Makes a Rare Comment 10 Years After Her Ex-Husband’s Tragic Passing