Vault: She Is Keeping A Major Secret From Her Parents...

Summary

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The Bert Show – Vault: She Is Keeping A Major Secret From Her Parents…

April 2, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, The Bert Show revisits a striking listener call-in with Jenna, who kept two enormous secrets from her mother: her marriage and the birth of her child. The cast discusses the emotional complexities, family estrangement, and the difficult choices at the heart of Jenna's story, providing humor, empathy, and sharp commentary throughout.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jenna’s Secret Life (00:06 – 01:43)

• Background:

  • Jenna’s mom remarried and moved to Vancouver a year ago.
  • In that time, Jenna herself got married and had a baby—without telling her mother.

• Communication Pattern:

  • Jenna and her mom communicated via small talk and avoided deeper subjects.
  • Notably, Jenna managed to hide her pregnancy and baby during calls by leaving the room so that her mom wouldn’t hear any baby noises.

  Quote:

  "It just never came up. We just do small talk... I’m so used to our lives being that way that I just never thought to tell her."
  — Jenna (B), [01:33]

2. Telling Her Mother the Truth (02:19 – 03:15)

• The Reveal:

  • Following the show’s previous advice, Jenna picks up her mom solo at the airport.
  • During the car drive, Jenna breaks the news; her mom actually guesses, “What, are you married or something?”, and receives the news with happiness.

• Granddaughter Surprise:

  • The news of a granddaughter comes as a bigger shock, but her mom is still happy and the weekend visit goes well.

  Quote:

  “Oddly enough, she said, ‘What, are you married or something?’...and she was really happy about it.”
  — Jenna (B), [02:42]

3. Family Estrangement & Emotional Distance (03:15 – 04:52)

• Commentary on Family Dynamics:

  • The cast expresses disbelief and fascinaton about the emotional distance, with Bert noting it makes his own family seem less dysfunctional.
  • Jenna explains their relationship has always lacked intimacy; her mother has been absent most of her life, particularly emotionally.

  Quote:

  “Our family is...well, I mean, it’s mostly just her and me...I’ve always gone off and done my own thing. She really don't know much about her husband, you know.”
  — Jenna (B), [03:47]

  • The hosts are struck by Jenna’s detachment:

    “It almost is. You can definitely have family members that are almost like strangers. Weird.”
    — Bert (A), [06:33]

4. The Visit: Details & Reactions (04:52 – 06:21)

• Weekend Recap:

  • The visit goes smoothly despite the initial shock.
  • Jenna’s mom opts to stay at a hotel rather than at Jenna’s house, finding the presence of a baby and Jenna’s new husband overwhelming.

• Hosts’ Observations:

  • The cast contrasts Jenna’s mother’s reaction with how other grandmothers—more involved ones—might have chosen to stay close.

  Quote:

  "She’s like, oh, I’m not just staying with you. There’s a husband and a baby, so now I’m not gonna stay with you."
  — Cassie (C), [06:05]

5. Patterns and Breaking the Cycle (06:42 – 07:38)

• Caller Reflection:

  • A listener, Tracy, asks Jenna if she plans to raise her daughter with the same emotional distance.
  • Jenna assures she wants a closer bond with her child, though the hosts express skepticism, discussing the difficulty of breaking generational cycles.

  Quote:

  “It’s the same family tree over and over and over again unless you decide to change it.”
  — Bert (A), [07:38]

• Melissa’s Take:

  “If that’s how your relationship is established and you’re all happy with that, then I’m glad there was no tension this weekend.”
  — Cassie (C), [05:19]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "You're making me feel way better about my family for sure."
  — Bert (A), [02:06]

• "I mean, she’s my mom, but, you know, it’s just different with us, I guess."
  — Jenna (B), [04:36]

• “That is wild. It’s like a stranger.”
  — Cassie (C), [06:31]

• “I am more disturbed by that call than I was by far. Why? Because it sounds like she's turning into her mom.”
  — Bert (A), [07:10]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:06 – Jenna recounts the timeline: mother moves, Jenna marries and has a baby.
• 01:33 – Jenna discusses why she never told her mom.
• 02:19 – Jenna describes the airport pickup and reveal.
• 02:42 – Mother's reaction to the marriage.
• 03:01 – Mother's reaction to the grandchild.
• 04:36 – Jenna reflects on her family dynamics.
• 05:07 – Anticipating the unchanged relationship.
• 06:05 – Decision for mom to stay at a hotel.
• 06:33 – Hosts discuss familial estrangement.
• 06:42 – Tracy calls, asks about Jenna’s own parenting intentions.
• 07:38 – Bert comments on breaking family cycles.

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Final Thoughts

The episode is a compelling, candid examination of family distance, secrets, and emotional survival. The Bert Show brings humor and heart to an unusual family story, offering both compassion and pointed questions about how family legacies are made—and whether they can be changed.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, the bird show. All right, back to Jenna here from Friday show.

[B]

About a year ago, my mom got remarried and moved to Vancouver and she's coming out this weekend. And in the year that she's been gone, I have had a baby and I have gotten married and I haven't told her at all.

[A]

Mom was coming in from Vancouver this weekend and she was going to be greeted by Jenny here who is going to tell her, A, I'm married and B, you have a granddaughter.

[C]

Well, apparently the relationship is not that close and the mom has done this, that she got married. And I think, didn't she get married and go to Canada? And so it was kind of, it was kind of, I don't know. That's how they handle things. It seems like some. She said some sort of comment about how her mom has bailed on her a lot for men.

[A]

Hey, Jenna.

[B]

Hi. How are you? Hi. Good.

[A]

Now, I wasn't here on Friday, so can you give us like a, give me the 60 second detail version of your story?

[B]

Okay. Well, my mother got married a year ago and moved to Vancouver. At the time, I was two months pregnant and wasn't sure what I was going to do about it. And while she was in Vancouver, I decided to have a child and I got married.

[A]

Okay. And in these conversations that you've had with mom since, you never said, oh, yeah, there's one thing that I really ought to run by you, I'm married, or, hey, there's really something that's been going on the last nine months that I think you'd be interested in.

[B]

It just never came up.

[A]

How does something like that ever come up?

[B]

We just do small talk, you know, housework, blah, blah, blah. So it just never really came up. And I'm so used to our lives being that way that I just never thought to tell her.

[C]

And listeners were talking about how does a baby not cry in the background or make noises in the background and she not hear it. But apparently that didn't happen, right?

[B]

Well, no, that never happened. I mean, I just left the room.

[A]

So you were almost hiding it from her.

[B]

I mean, I guess I never really thought of it that way. I mean, it just didn't occur to me. But you didn't.

[A]

Okay, you're making me feel way better about my family for sure. So your mom shows up this weekend and when do you break it to her that, A, you're married and then the second part of the whole thing that you got a kid?

[B]

Well, I was going to take everybody with me to the airport but you guys told me that would be a bad idea, so I didn't do that. I just picked her up myself and we just made small talk for most of the ride. And then halfway home, I said, I have something to tell you. And oddly enough, she said, what, are you married or something?

[C]

You're like, well.

[B]

Well, actually, yeah. And she was really happy about it. She was very happy about it.

[C]

And did you follow that with your grandmother?

[B]

That came as a little more of a shock, but she was happy about it, too, and she met them and she got along with everybody, and it ended up being a great weekend.

[C]

So she wasn't mad?

[B]

No, she wasn't. She. She actually. She told me she thought, you know, I was going to end up, you know, just kind of being alone. So she was kind of happy.

[A]

Hobby. Can't understand this kind of family dysfunction. When we talk about this kind of stuff or I talk about how jacked up my family is, Jen looks at my case like she's looking at a display at the Smithsonian. Like, wow,

[C]

it is a little bizarre that you don't tell your mother about a child that you had. That's pretty unique.

[B]

I don't know. Our family is. Well, I mean, it's mostly just her and me, so it's always just been very. I don't know, I've always gone off and done my own thing. So. She really don't know much about her husband, you know.

[C]

Well, when you have, like, phone conversations, don't you just say, what's new? Well, you have a belly. I mean, you're. I mean, you're pregnant. Yeah, that'd be the first thing I think about.

[B]

It just. Honestly, it just never occurred to me. Tell her about it. Just because she's not here and, you know, it's not like she's living down the street.

[A]

If you haven't been close to somebody your entire life like that, it does seem like an unbelievable story. But I can see the window of it being possible that you're just like, this is not something I share with these people because they almost don't seem like relatives.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, I don't know, but. I mean, she's my mom, but, you know, it's just different with us, I guess. I don't know how to explain. It's just always been this way, you know, she doesn't know about boyfriends or she doesn't know really about that side of my life.

[A]

Or husbands.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Or babies or children or baby, I guess.

[C]

But I'm glad that she was happy for You. And I'm glad you had a great weekend. Now, my assumption is that you'll just go on as usual, and you just have the same relationship with her and you see her again. You see her again?

[B]

Yeah. I mean, maybe she'll ask me, like, how the baby is, but it'll pretty much be same as before. I probably won't see her for another year.

[A]

What's that look, Melissa? That's an unfamiliar look to me.

[C]

Well, no, I mean, it's just listening, because it is. I don't think this is the ideal family situation, but it's her family situation, so it's just imagining the grandmother not seeing the baby for, you know, until it's going to school or something, so. But if that's. If that's how your relationship is, you know, established and you're all happy with that, then I'm glad that there was no tension this weekend.

[B]

No, it was great. I mean, she didn't stay with us in the end, but it was great.

[A]

What do you mean, didn't stay with you in the end?

[B]

Well, she was supposed to stay with us in my house, and she ended up staying in a hotel.

[A]

Was that her decision, or is that something that you suggested?

[B]

Oh, no, that was. That was her decision.

[C]

She's like, oh, I'm not just staying with you. There's a husband and a baby, so now I'm not gonna stay with you.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

So in some cases, mothers would go, wow, that's. Or grandmothers would go, wow, I want to be around that baby as much as possible. But in other families, and I know this, it's like, well, it's gonna be a little loud, and I'll come check back tomorrow. We'll hang out a little bit.

[B]

Yeah, she was more like that. You know, she came, she played with my daughter. You know, they had a great time. And then she.

[A]

I gotta tell you, I understand where she's coming from.

[C]

That is wild. It's like a stranger.

[A]

Yeah, it almost is. You can definitely have family members that are almost like strangers. Weird.

[C]

I can't comprehend that. I'm really trying. I'm really trying.

[A]

Hey, Tracy. Good Morning. You're on Q100.

[B]

Hey, guys. I just want to know, do you plan to raise your daughter the same way that you were raised? No. No. I mean, I'm sure my daughter and me will have a close relationship. I mean, I don't know. She's young, so. But no, I. I don't plan on doing.

[A]

Oh, boy. She says, all right, good luck. Okay, thank you for sharing.

[B]

All right. Thank you.

[A]

Thanks. Bye. Bye. I am more disturbed by that call than I was by far. Why? Because it sounds like she's turning into her mom, you know, like, oh, I don't know. That's how she knows we're gonna have the same relationship. I know it's a little early to tell. She's young and all.

[C]

Yeah, I know. I mean, I'm not. I'm not surprised by that, because that's all she knows. That's what she lear like. I think that. I think in your case and her case, Bert, because you talk about your family a lot. At least you're making efforts with your family so that you don't repeat the pattern, right? If you don't make efforts, you're going to repeat the pattern.

[A]

It's the same family tree over and over and over again unless you decide to change it. I just feel like I'm going to cleanse from the show today. Get it off of me. Hey, the Birch show.