Vanessa Bayer reveals reason behind keeping 'SNL' gig secret from family

Vanessa Bayer revealed why she hid her landing Saturday Night Live gig from her family for nearly a month. 

On Wednesday's episode of the Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson podcast, the 43-year-old actress and comedian explained she had to keep her SNL casting a secret while moving from Chicago to New York City because of all the "horror stories of celebrating too early" she had heard from her castmates. 

"It was crazy," she expressed. "It was just a month of lying to everyone close to me."

However, the SNL alum couldn't hide it from her parents for long and ended up sharing the exciting news with them but only after making them promise to keep it strictly confidential from other family members and relatives, which led them to lie to their loved ones.

"I swore them to secrecy because I had heard horror stories about cast members telling people too early," she explained. 

"Nothing horrible had ever happened, but I was warned. My agent in Chicago was like, 'You cannot tell a soul.'"

Despite working hard to keep it a secret from everyone, someone leaked the news and her relatives kept calling Vanessa's parents for confirmation, but they adhered to the Ibiza actress’ strict orders and would deflect their inquiry. 

Reflecting on the situation, the comedian can now find humour in it but she still remembers how tough it was to keep it under the rocks at the time.