Vault: She In The Middle Of A Work Love Triangle

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Bert Show

Episode: Vault: She In The Middle Of A Work Love Triangle
Date: January 20, 2026
Host: Pionaire Podcasting
Cast: Bert, Kristin, Abby, Cassie, Tommy & the Bert Show Cast

Episode Overview

In this lively segment of The Bert Show, the cast dives into a real-life dilemma submitted by a listener (alias "Mary") who finds herself stuck in a tangled web of romance and workplace drama. Mary, currently unemployed and financially supported by her boyfriend, faces a moral and practical crisis after interviewing for a job—only to realize her potential new supervisor is someone she secretly had a one-night stand with while still in her relationship. The conversation unfolds with raw honesty, humor, and input from listeners, offering advice and perspective on the complexities of secrets, workplace boundaries, and coming clean before the truth catches up.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Mary’s Situation Revealed

• Mary’s Backstory: She lost her job two months ago and is being supported financially by her boyfriend. Both work in the tech field, and her boyfriend arranged a job interview for her at his company.
• The Twist: During the interview, she realizes her potential supervisor is someone she had a one-night stand with while living with her boyfriend.
  • ‘We just looked at each other and he started laughing and I was like, oh man. But he didn't say anything. But he knew, you know, he didn't have. He said, I think you look familiar. And I said, yeah.’ (02:10, Mary)

2. The Cast Reacts: No Excuses

• The show’s cast calls Mary out for blaming alcohol, pushing her to own her actions.
  • ‘You gotta stop using the excuse of being drunk. Cause for somebody who's really drunk, you know an awful lot of details about your evening with this guy. So don't. Yeah, it wasn't an excuse. You messed around on your boyfriend’ (02:43, Cast Member)
• Bert highlights the gravity of hiding this at work:
  • ‘You're going to have the tension every single day of having to work around this guy that you've slept with and. And having this secret right there in front of you the entire time you're at work.’ (04:00, Bert)

3. Is the Job Worth the Risk?

• The cast questions whether Mary should even consider the job, given the risk of the secret getting out and the uncomfortable work dynamic.
• Mary admits the supervisor made playful, even inappropriate innuendos during the interview, fueling the team's doubts about him as a boss.
  • ‘He was, like, winking and, like… just, you know, make any jokes and…’ (04:24, Mary)

4. Calls from Listeners: Sharing Similar Stories and Advice

• Rachel’s Similar Experience: She describes overcoming an awkward work situation with a former fling, emphasizing professionalism and honesty.
  • ‘Neither one of us said anything because we knew... We just went about our day and we had a professional relationship, and it wasn't an issue at all.’ (07:17, Rachel)
• Consensus on Honesty: Both callers and cast warn Mary that her secret is unlikely to stay hidden if she takes the job, suggesting her only control is coming clean to her boyfriend herself.
  • ‘There's no way around it. It's going to come out eventually, especially if he's feeling guilty… might as well tell him the truth. He deserves the truth.’ (07:27, Rachel)
  • ‘Because she's either gonna lose her boyfriend by telling him the truth, or she's gonna lose her boyfriend by the boss telling him the truth. Like somebody is gonna let the cat out of the bag here.’ (07:54, Cast Member)

5. Listeners Weigh In: Strong Warnings

• Nicole’s Advice: She bluntly tells Mary to avoid the job and accept the financial struggle instead.
  • ‘That boss is gonna ride her back. He gonna be throwing it in her face. And the first moment he get… it's gonna be thrown up in his face that, you know, he slept with his girl.’ (09:13, Nicole)
  • ‘Stay broke, girl. Find something else. Go to McDonald's or something.’ (09:44, Nicole)
• The risk of workplace gossip is emphasized—people agree that secrets of this kind don’t stay quiet for long.
  • ‘That is too big of a nugget for anybody to keep quiet… as soon as she walks out. I mean, that is absolutely—You have to share, especially if he's already winking and stuff.’ (10:46, Cast Member)

6. Mary’s Final Thoughts and the Cast’s Closing Take

• Mary acknowledges the risks and agrees the job is not worth it, despite her financial concerns.
  • ‘Yeah, I'm definitely not gonna do that, but I think they might be right. What if he tried to say something to my boyfriend?’ (11:14, Mary)
• The cast sums it up as the natural consequence of her choices. They arrange to check back in with Mary after the weekend for an update.
  • ‘You made a mistake. I mean, this is… This is the consequences of your actions. So you're just gonna have to figure it out. There's no easy, you know, happy answer. But I do agree, you cannot take this job.’ (11:38, Cast Member)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You gotta stop using the excuse of being drunk. Cause for somebody who's really drunk, you know an awful lot of details about your evening with this guy.” – Cast Member (02:43)
• “You're going to have the tension every single day of having to work around this guy that you've slept with and... having this secret right there in front of you.” – Bert (04:00)
• “There's no way around it. It's going to come out eventually… might as well tell them the truth. He deserves the truth.” – Rachel (07:27)
• “That boss is gonna ride her back… It's gonna be thrown up in his face… She knows that she don't need that job.” – Nicole (09:13)
• “Stay broke, girl. Find something else. Go to McDonald's or something.” – Nicole (09:44)
• “You made a mistake. I mean, this is… This is the consequences of your actions. So you're just gonna have to figure it out.” – Cast Member (11:38)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–02:10: Mary introduces her dilemma and the shocking reveal at the interview
• 02:10–03:18: Cast reactions; no-excuses stance on infidelity
• 03:18–05:04: Analyzing the risks of working with her former fling
• 05:44–07:24: Listener Rachel’s story and advice on honesty in similar situations
• 07:24–09:49: Callers and cast debate whether honesty is the only option; Nicole gives blunt workplace advice
• 09:49–12:20: Closing thoughts, warnings about workplace gossip, and Mary agrees to update the show

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Summary Takeaway

This episode showcases The Bert Show’s trademark mix of humor, empathy, and straight talk. The cast and callers provide a real-time sounding board for Mary’s problem—balancing financial necessity, relationship honesty, and the realities of workplace drama. The consensus? Get ahead of the truth, don’t take the job, and accept the challenging but necessary consequences of past actions. Mary promises to follow up, leaving listeners invested in what happens next.

Transcript

[A]

Listen, it's the Burt show. Okay, at this point we're gonna need the voice disguiser, Jeff. And we're gonna turn it over to Burt show listener Mary. Hey, Mary.

[B]

Hi.

[A]

Hi. You are now on the voice disguiser. We cannot recognize your voice.

[B]

Do I sound like a robot?

[A]

Yes, a little bit. Yeah, a little bit. What's going on?

[B]

Okay, so this is a little weird. Well, I've been living with my boyfriend for a year. We've been, you know, everything's great, but I lost my job two months ago.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

So he's sort of paying for everything and paying my share of the rent and the food and stuff. So we both do computer stuff. And he finally got me an interview where he works.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

All right.

[B]

Which is great. And I went to the interview and the supervisor who was gonna interview me, I knew it somewhere.

[C]

He.

[B]

Well, he was this guy I kinda hooked up with like five months ago.

[C]

Uh huh.

[B]

I was still seeing my boyfriend.

[D]

Oh.

[B]

And I was really drunk.

[C]

So you messed around with this guy?

[B]

Yeah, well, more than that.

[A]

More than messed around.

[B]

Yeah, we sort of, you know, had a sling and we sort of, you know, did the deed.

[C]

So you went all the way with this guy? Was it just once?

[B]

Maybe. Well, I don't know. One night, but.

[A]

Okay. Gotcha.

[C]

One night.

[E]

So while you were dating your boyfriend, you had a one night stand with a guy.

[B]

I was really drunk.

[E]

Who happens to be one of your boyfriend's bosses.

[B]

I didn't know that until I got there.

[A]

So you actually show up to this interview and you sit down and you're shocked when the supervisor rolls in and you realize it's this guy that you had a one night stand with.

[B]

We just looked at each other and he started laughing and I was like, oh man. But he didn't say anything. But he knew, you know, he didn't have. He said, I think you look familiar. And I said, yeah.

[A]

At the time, did he know that you had a living boyfriend? Although I'm guessing it didn't matter.

[B]

Well, I said that I was seeing someone, but first he put two and two together at that moment. I said it wasn't serious at the time.

[C]

First of all, you gotta stop using the excuse of being drunk. Cause for somebody who's really drunk, you know an awful lot of details about your evening with this guy. So don't. Yeah, it wasn't an excuse. You messed around on your boyfriend, so with this guy. You're right.

[D]

Let's get all these excuses out of the way.

[C]

Alcohol is not an excuse.

[A]

She's Right. I mean, the basics here, the black and white of the whole thing is you slept with somebody else while you had. While you were living with this guy, and it turns out that this could be your potential supervisor.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, I really regret it, though. I mean, I was drunk and we didn't know.

[D]

Stop that crap.

[C]

That's just crap.

[D]

So are you trying to figure out, is this guy gonna tell your boyfriend, like, did you interview and get a job offer? What?

[B]

I just don't know how I could work with him and it not come out because he was kind of teasing me and he knows my boyfriend, you.

[A]

Know, I can see the conflicts here, though. I can understand the innuendo, you know.

[B]

And I. I just. How could I work with this guy? I wasn't. I mean, and it was weird. I never called because he was a little creepy.

[A]

I mean, here's where the conflict comes in. Obviously, because she's unemployed, the boyfriend is paying all the bills, so she feels obligated to get a job. She could probably easily get this one. But then you're going to have the tension every single day of having to work around this guy that you've slept with and. And having this secret right there in front of you the entire time you're at work.

[C]

Two questions for you. One, if. Take the boyfriend out of it. If you were interviewing for a job and this was the guy that was your boss, would you take the job with him? And to, like, it's not even just whether her boyfriend's going to find out if he's making innuendos at the interview. How in the world is he going to be a good boss and have any respect for the work you do?

[B]

Yeah, well, I mean, I guess. I don't know. He was, like, winking and, like.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Just, you know, make any jokes and I probably. Yeah, I guess. Probably. I mean, I would. I guess it would depend if I. If I didn't have a boyfriend, if I was, you know, super desperate and needed a job for, like a month. But, like, if you. If my boyfriend's working there every day and they know each other, you know, at, you know, like, after the interview, they said hi to each other and.

[A]

You know, you're gonna have all these weird, awkward things going on and you take this gig.

[D]

Are you thinking about confessing to your boyfriend what happened, whether you take the job or not?

[B]

I love my boyfriend. I couldn't. Oh, no, it was a. You know, I made a mistake and, like, we used to call him. So, like, I put him in drink.

[C]

Well, but I remember that too well, because it was.

[D]

Well, that's a good.

[F]

Well, never mind.

[C]

Yeah, but I'm just saying, I don't think she was really drunk. She knew exactly what you were doing at that point.

[B]

No, I. Well, I mean, I'm just, you know, inconsequential.

[G]

Yeah.

[E]

What happened in the past is anonymous.

[A]

Inconsequential. I was pretty drunk, but inconsequential. Let me take some call. I'm not sure why I'm singing that. Hey, Rachel.

[B]

Hey, how are you guys?

[A]

Good. How are you? How are you, Rachel?

[G]

I'm doing good. Here's the thing. I was in a similar situation.

[A]

Yeah, hold on. Hey, Rachel. Rachel.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Hold on just one second.

[G]

Okay.

[A]

Hey, Mary, I'm gonna have to put you on the voice disguiser. I forgot about this because everybody's on the voice disguiser, and it just sounds really weird.

[D]

Put Mary on hold and get Rachel back.

[A]

So, Mary, hold on one sec. Okay. All right. Now, Rachel, you go ahead. There we go.

[G]

Okay.

[F]

Yay. Okay.

[G]

I.

[F]

The law firm that I work at now, when I went in for my first interview, I interviewed with the boss man, and things were fine. And then when I went in with my second interview, I had to interview with the other two attorneys because it's a very small law firm. And one of the attorneys was a guy that I had slept with about a year beforehand. And even though he wasn't going to be my direct boss, like, you know, signing my paychecks, I had to deal with him every single day. And when I walked in there, we.

[G]

Kind of just looked at each other.

[F]

And neither one of us said anything because we knew. I mean, he's married now, and, you know, I'm not with anybody. But we just. We let it go because if he wants to have her as an employee, if she's qualified and she needs a.

[G]

Job, then both of them will.

[F]

Should be able to, as adults, to just, you know, let that go, not fall into the immaturity thing. You must be laughing about it. And. No, I'm serious.

[G]

I dealt with this guy every single day.

[F]

And we just.

[G]

We didn't talk about it.

[F]

It was never mentioned. We just went about our day and we had a professional relationship, and it wasn't an issue at all.

[A]

Good morning. All the hits. Q100.

[G]

I just want to say that she.

[F]

Has got to tell him the truth. There's no way around it.

[G]

It's going to come out eventually, especially.

[F]

If he's feeling guilty.

[G]

I mean, she's going to be acting Funny. If she does decide to take the.

[F]

Job, and if she doesn't, there's going to be a question of, you don't have a job.

[G]

You can't help pay rent.

[F]

Why wouldn't you want. This is a great opportunity, you know, I finally got this opportunity for you. What's the problem? And she's going to come up with some lame excuse.

[G]

What's the.

[F]

You know, a lame excuse. You might as well tell them the truth. He deserves the truth.

[D]

I agree with you. Because she's either gonna lose her boyfriend by telling him the truth, or she's gonna lose her boyfriend by the boss telling him the truth. Like somebody is gonna let the cat out of the bag here. You're not gonna be able to keep this little secret.

[E]

But if you're the boyfriend who got her that interview, the excuse is gonna have to be better than, oh, I think it just wasn't right for me.

[A]

Plus, he's probably all stressed out right now that he's paying all the bills. And if she turns us down, he's gonna be like, what do I gotta do here for you to contribute around here a little bit?

[D]

That's why I think that she's gonna confess the affair.

[E]

Cause she's gonna go to the supervisor and say. And he's gonna be like, well, I offered it to her.

[D]

That's why I think she's gotta confess it.

[A]

See, these are the kind of times where I am convinced God has a great sense of humor, you know, because, you know, God puts her into this job interview. Of all the jobs in Atlanta, of all the supervisors, she has this affair. And God's way of giggling through this thing is like, I'm gonna hook you up, and the supervisor's gonna be the one you had the affair with.

[C]

That's called the karma Train right there.

[E]

God's reality TV show.

[C]

I mean, she shouldn't have had the affair, but she was drunk.

[A]

Hey, y'. All, Nicole is back.

[D]

Hey, Nicole.

[A]

Hey, Nicole.

[F]

Good morning.

[G]

What's going on?

[A]

Hey, good seeing you last night. Leopard Lounge.

[G]

I know. I had a really good time and everything, but I got to get on a girlfriend on the phone. Don't be trying to use drugs as an excuse to get your thing on. Don't be trying to use that for no excuse. And, I mean, you had a boyfriend and everything, but you done messed up now, so there's nothing you can do. That boss is gonna ride her back. He gonna be throwing it in her face. And the first moment he get, as soon as her boyfriend say, Something to him, or they get into a little argument or a little, you know, office discussion. It's gonna be thrown up in his face that, you know, he slept with his girl. He's gonna be throwing up in his face like, well, okay, well, you guess what? I slept with your girl. It's gonna be thrown up in his face as soon as possible. And she knows that she don't need that job.

[F]

Stay broke, girl.

[G]

Stay broke, girl. Find something else. Go to McDonald's or something. Nicole, we going up there.

[D]

Nicole, do you think that her boyfriend's gonna find out whether she takes the job or not?

[G]

Yes, he's gonna find out. Especially if the boss already. Or the manager, supervisor, whatever, if he already knows that that is her boyfriend. It is going to come out. He may, you know, whisper it to.

[F]

Another friend, another co worker at work.

[E]

He's already said it.

[G]

It's already out. It's too late. She might as well. The only thing she can do at this point is come clean with her man before he come to her and be like, hey, what's going on? I heard this at work. So she can have an upper hand and at least try to look honest instead of being, like, the drunk, slutty girl.

[E]

When you're a guy, here's what you do. Like, you had the interview with her and she's leaving the office. You find the nearest guy to you and go, dude, guess what? See, that girl's leaving right now. See, look, look, look. Look at her. Look at her turn.

[A]

Look at her. Look at her. Look at her. Look at her.

[E]

Look at her. See her?

[G]

That's already happening.

[A]

I hit that. Yeah, he for sure did.

[G]

That's already happened. It's too late.

[A]

You're right.

[G]

I advise the girlfriend stay broke, boo boo. Stay broke.

[D]

That is too big of a nugget for anybody to keep quiet. Like, you know, like, for her to walk in his office and he's, like, inside, he's totally laughing, doing the whole thing. Yeah, as soon as she walks out. I mean, that is absolutely.

[A]

You have to share, especially if he's already winking and stuff. Yeah. Jeff, gonna need the voice disguiser again. We'll get Mary back on here. There you go. Hey, Mary.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, you got a lot of different perspectives there, but I think the one you're hearing over and over is, do not take that job, boo. Boo.

[B]

Well, yeah, I'm definitely not gonna do that, but I think they might be right. What if he tried to say something to my boyfriend?

[A]

You know, you're screwed on a bunch of different levels here, too. Because like we said, if you do take the job, then this guy sounds like the kind of guy that would hold this over your head. That means working overtime. That means, you know, doing. You know, maybe having sex with them again.

[C]

Well, you made a mistake. I mean, this is. This is the consequences of your actions. So you're just gonna have to figure it out. There's no easy, you know, happy answer. But I do agree, you cannot take this job.

[B]

Well, thank you.

[A]

You know what we got to do now, because we made this promise that when we get the Bircho community involved in advice like this, that you have to tell us what you're gonna do, and then we gotta call you in, like, two or three days and find out how you handled it.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

Can we get you back on in a couple of days?

[D]

Yeah, sure.

[B]

I still have the same phone number after all.

[A]

We'll give you until over the weekend. And why don't we check back in with you on Monday?

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Okay. See ya.

[B]

Thanks.

[A]

Bye.

[D]

Bye.

[A]

Listen, it's the vert show.