1. Mother at Work

Tanna Marino, a resident of Cypress, Texas, was a working woman and mom to four. As she said of herself, Tanna was just a “small-town girl.” Still, underneath her calm and composed front, Tanna worked hard, long days to take care of her family.
Even though she could weather any storm, it still didn’t stop this one from striking. Little did she know that despite her confidence, everything was about to change. Read on below to find it if it was for better or worst!

2. The Struggle

Life wasn’t easy for the Marino family. She was exhausted by the long hours that she had to work to support her kids. She hardly even had any time to spend with those children she loved. As she got more desperate, she didn’t know what to do or where to turn.

She was having a difficult time paying the bills, and, despite her best efforts, her paychecks just were never enough to make it through the month. Whatever it took she would do, and she prayed that something would help her. She began to feel lost and hopeless.

3. No Time Off

Tanna wasn’t alone in her busy life; her husband was also out often as his job as a full-time firefighter in Houston. Tanna was employed by Mr. Appliance, a maintenance and repair business, as an appliance technician.

They couldn’t let their kids go hungry, so both parents were often out of the house. This meant that neither of them had enough time off to spend with their kids. Until, one day, something changed…

4. The Big Surprise

On one day just like any other, Tanna got a big surprise. Out of the blue, scouts approached her with an incredible offer. Would she like to be on a new reality show for its pilot episode?

She was overwhelmed but incredibly excited. Something needed to change, and this could drastically improve her life. When she asked for more details, she couldn’t believe what they said—or, it turns out, what they didn’t say.

5. Confusing Details

Sure, it seemed like a great opportunity to be on a reality TV show, but the pitch seemed a bit off. The producers seemed hesitant to share many details with Tanna, but they told her that they planned on naming the show “Don’t Quit Your Day Job.”

Even though most of us would drop everything for a chance at this kind of fame, Tanna had to mull things over. She hardly had any time off with her kids, let alone to take on another side gig. Could she afford this? What would happen?

6. Taking a Chance

Tanna decided to take a chance and go for it. She rung up the producers and told them she was good to go. After all, she could become a reality TV star, and from there the sky’s the limit.

Anything was better than nothing. Still, and she got ready for her TV debut, being the carefree and doubt-free young women that she was, she had no idea that something was off. Everything was about to become very strange…

7. A Strange Offer

The story begins two years before when Tanna’s own refrigerator needed a fix. She rung up Mr. Appliance, who sent out a repair guy. When he arrived and met her husband, he gave him a strange offer.

Offering him a job at Mr. Appliance was generous, but, since Michael was a full-time firefighter, he decided that he didn’t have time. The recruiter hadn’t given Tanna the same offer, but that got the gears going in her head.

8. Change of Plans

This repairman obviously had pegged Tanna wrong, as she would be a perfect candidate. Besides, she was getting tired of being a stay-at-home mom, was ready to work, and her family needed the extra cash anyway.

Once she had thought things over for a few days, she decided to make her move. She rung up Mr. Appliance and told them she wanted a job. The repairman who had come to their house definitely wasn’t expecting this!

9. The Show Goes On

After working for Mr. Appliance for two years, Tanna was set to appear on television. They told her that, to film the show, they would follow her around on the job and record her work.

They told Tanna that a woman, a new recruit at Mr. Appliance, would shadow her around. This was, supposedly, so that she could figure out whether or not she would one day like to do this job. But that’s not all that was going on here.

10. The New Girl

With the camera crew behind her, Tanna met the new girl, a woman named Faith Brown, who was supposed to be a new employee with Mr. Appliance. Eyeing this brunette woman up and down, Tanna didn’t think that she looked like someone who would go into the repair business.

Faith had lots of makeup on her face, fingernail extension, and pearl jewelry. Tanna thought that she seemed like someone who would rather be in an office, but, nonetheless, she was excited about the whole situation. Tanna had no idea what was in store for her.

11. The Day Begins

Those long fingernails were sure to be a problem when it came to actually do the repairs. Still, Faith went along with Tanna as she started her day, heading off to people’s houses and repairing their appliances.

Tanna immediately realized that Faith had little to no experience fixing appliances. It was a good thing that Tanna was there, as she patiently taught Faith a lot. During the entire shift, Faith was jotting down mental notes about Tanna.

12. Becoming Friends

All week long, Faith and Tanna drove around the area with the camera crew close in tow. Despite their age difference, they ended up becoming great friends on camera. Faith may have no been the most skilled repairwoman, she was learning quickly and paying close attention to Tanna’s instructions.

Faith was also overly gracious for Tanna’s help and naturally, she was quite nice and polite, so she really grew on Tanna. Eventually, they became so close that Tanna decided to take Faith into her own private world.

13. Visiting the Family

The cameramen followed along as Tanna made a step off-script. She invited Faith to come to her home and visit her family. Once there, Faith got to meet Tanna’s other half, Michael, as well as their four kids.

After conversing with the kids, she was overcome by their charm. She was impressed by how cute they were, and how loving and hard-working Tanna and Michael were. Still, one comment that Tanna made really shocked Faith. It set the whole mood.

14. A Hard Talk

While on the job, before going to meet her husband and kids, Tanna told Faith that, even though both she and her husband worked full time, they didn’t make enough for their family. This was her big confession.

Even though she already had little to no free time as it was, Tanna explained to Faith that she had been contemplating taking on another job just to make ends meet. On camera Faith seemed as cool as a cucumber, but, underneath, she was heartbroken.

15. A Familiar Life

When she heard this tragic tale from Tanna, deep memories stirred up within Faith. During her childhood, her dad had started his own business and, since he worked so much, he was usually away from home.

Faith knew that her dad was determined to support his family, but she hardly ever saw him as he rarely got home before the kids were in bed. She was disturbed by seeing this play out for Tanna and her children.

16. Too Many Similarities

The Marino family situation was just too close to home for Faith to ignore. When Tanna opened up to Faith, she had learned the truth of what was going on in her new co-worker’s life.

For Tanna, it had only been a comment in passing while they were driving in the van. She could have never expected just how much it would mean. Faith knew that she had to do something—fast.

17. That’s a Wrap

Then, as soon as it had started, filming “Don’t Quit Your Day Job” came to a wrap. The new co-worker following the employee segment had ended. But, the last and most vital scene was yet to come.

Now it was time to flip the script. Faith was about to play host to Tanna. When the repairwoman got in the film crew’s car, they took her to Faith’s home. And she was about to get blown away by what was about to happen.

18. A Whole Different Woman

When Tanna got to the house, she met a blonde with blues eyes. There was no way that this could be Faith. Rather, the woman told Tanna that she was Dina Dwyer-Owens—and that she had been disguised as Faith. Now, the truth was out.

They told Tanna that she had been fooled by her and the production crew. She was amazed. Who was this mysterious Dina woman, and why had she hidden her true identity by dressing up as Faith?

19. A Disguised Millionaire

Everyone else, including the entire crew and “Faith” herself, had been in on the secret. Faith was not who she said she was. Instead, she was Dina Dwyer-Owens, the CEO of the Dwyer Group, which owned the entire Mr. Appliance franchise.

Dina was not a repairwoman or an ordinary office worker. She was the head of an $800 million company! To become “Faith,” she put on a wig and contacts to disguise herself. And she was about to blow Tanna’s mind.

20. The Truth Comes Out

The truth about Faith was not the only thing that came out. In fact, there was no “Don’t Quit Your Day Job.” It had actually been just another episode of the hit CBS series Undercover Boss.

The show’s premise is simple.  It is based on the idea that a boss or higher-up follows an ordinary employee to listen and learn their perspective. Dina, however, had taken a special interest to Tanna.

21. Spilling the Beans

After spilling the beans, Dina explained to Tanna that she was quite a unique employee. Dina loved seeing women in the repair field, which is so dominated by men. She also appreciated Tanna’s determined attitude, as that’s exactly the type of person that she wanted in her company.

Even though she couldn’t want to tell her favorite employee what else she had come, Dina had a hard time keeping her tears back. Tanna’s personal story had really spoken to Dina’s soul since she could relate from her own childhood.

22. A New Opportunity

Dina started by telling Tanna that she would fund a new opportunity for her. She was putting up $5,000 of her own money for Tanna to begin a “Women in the Trades” program that would assist women who work in or want to learn trades like Tanna’s.

This program was designed to cover tuition and fees for these skilled women as they developed their expertise. Tanna and Dina would work together to make sure that women were equally represented in the field of appliance repairs. But this was just the start—Dina had much more in store for Tanna.

23. Looking Forward

With all of their difficulties and hard work, Tanna and her husband, Michael, were always focused on the welfare and futures of their children. Tanna had a specific vision for her kids and she tried her best to provide for them.

Even though she worked at Mr. Appliance to cover day-to-day expenses, Tanna hoped to save some money so that her kids could go to university when they got older. Dina knew all about this. And she wanted to help.

24. A Scholarship

When Dina met Tanna’s family, she had been truly touched. Her eyes were filled with tears as she explained to the trembling Tanna that she had created a $10,000 scholarship fund to help Tanna’s kids go to college one day.

Tanna was incredibly grateful to her boss once she told her that her hopes for her family would, in fact, become a reality. A new sun was on the horizon. And yet, the greatest surprise was still in the wings.

25. The Last Present

In this bright garden where these two women looked at each other as equals, the CEO and the repairwoman, Tanna was being bombarded with surprised just a few days into her reality TV career. Tanna Marino’s life would never be the same.

As she tried to stop the tears from flowing, Dina told Tanna that she had one last present for her. She had written out another check to Tanna. This one was for $25,000! But what was the reason for this?

26. A Beautiful Moment

Dina had already presented a check for Tanna’s women’s program and for her children’s scholarship, but this last present was truly a beautiful moment. Tanna could hardly believe what was happening.

This huge check for Dina was simple but life-changing. Dina said that this one was for Tanna, simply for being herself. Tanna could not get over it. She paused. Could she really accept this incredible offering?

27. Left Without Words

Once she got the news that her entire life was about to change, Tanna was left without words. She could not fathom what was happening, and she humbly explained to Dina that she was only a country girl.

She couldn’t think that she deserved this amazing compassion and generosity. She could hardly speak, let alone figure out the best words to express her rapid-flying thoughts. But Dina knew just the words to say for her.

28. What Dina Said

With joy in her face, Dina said that Tanna may be a country girl, but that didn’t stop her from being an amazing person. She was full of feeling and depth as she told her favorite employee, “You’re an amazing technician. You’re also an incredible wife and mother.”

The two women then stood up, embraced, and sobbed into each other’s arms. In this truly beautiful moment, the boss and the worker showed their hearts for what they truly were. And, if you can believe this, there was still one more surprise to come.

29. A Deeper Motivation

Dina wanted to go on Undercover Boss to learn more about her company and find out if her career was following the values that her late father had instilled in her when he had started it up.

She was incredibly happy because, in the process, she’d found just the thing that she was looking for. Tanna had every quality that she expected, and there was no way she would let go of this incredible employee. This lady would not have to take on a second job.

30. The Promotion

So that she could have more financial security and reward to this hardworking woman, Dina offered Tanna a promotion within the business. On top of everything else, she gave Tanna the opportunity to become a franchise consultant.

After this amazing day, Tanna’s life would never be the same. She was so glad that “Faith” came into her life. To this very day, she still works with Mr. Appliance. She loves her job and she knows that her company loves her too.

Sources: Social Gazette, CBS