Moonves. Julie Chen Moonves.

She’s best known for heading up lively discussions and lingering debates on television’s The Talk, but Julie Chen (or as of last night, Chen Moonves) is not talking much at all about her husband Les Moonves’ current sticky situation. As you’ve surely heard, he recently resigned as CEO of CBS, but Chen has not appeared as head of her talk show since allegations of sexual harassment on the part of her husband made news.

OK, so Chen is taking some time away from The Talk. Understandable, since her family’s dirty laundry (or at least allegations of such) is hot in the headlines. The rest of the show’s panel is filling in, discussing the debacle, and feeling the pressure of being pulled in too many awkward directions as their co-host, friend, and former boss are at the forefront of their cringeworthy conversation. Will Chen return to The Talk and face both fans and foes? Time will tell, but that hasn’t stopped her from keeping her career kicking as longtime host of Big Brother (also on CBS).

And last night, Chen was on television, showing her face for the first time since her husband’s resignation. “The show must go on,” as they say, and she did her part to keep things running smoothly. But it wasn’t the show’s content itself that made Big Brother fans inhale a collective gasp as the reality competition came to an end. It was the host’s final words to close out the program, signing off as Julie Chen Moonves. “From outside the Big Brother house,” she said, “I’m Julie Chen Moonves. Goodnight.” According to Us Weekly, “In the show’s 20-season history, she has always referred to herself simply as ‘Julie Chen.'”

People are freaking out. Some are confused. There is support and there is frustration. Is she in denial? Does she believe he didn’t do anything the however-many women claim he did? Perhaps he confessed to her yet she chooses to work things through. Maybe she’s just not sure how she feels yet, but she holds her marriage vows sacred. And has anyone stopped to think that there is, in fact, a chance that Moonves is innocent?

We don’t know what Chen is thinking, but we can see that she is standing by her husband at this time. And that’s OK. She is a woman who has the choice to live her life the way she sees fit. If it comes out that Moonves is charged, we will see how Chen reacts. And if she still chooses to remain Mrs. Moonves, that is her prerogative. If we’d do something different, we can (heaven forbid we find ourselves in a similar situation).

That said, as host of The Talk, it only makes sense for Chen to get back to the table and start doing just that. If she needs this time to be with her family and sort out how and when she’ll make a comeback, then fine. But if she dodges this whirlwind and comes back in a few weeks to discuss Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin’s upcoming wedding or whatever may be stewing on the Stormy Daniels front, viewers will be the first to call her our for being hypocritical.

Being in Chen’s position must be beyond stressful. Accusations like these are not to be taken lightly, and this is her husband we’re talking about. And none of this is private. Her whole world is crashing down around her and she is holding on to the person she chose to be her partner for life. The truth will unfold and her marriage will either make it or this will break it. But until Chen talks on The Talk, all we can do is speculate on how she’s surviving.

Stay tuned.

Melissa A. Kay is a New York-based writer, editor, and content strategist. Follow her work on Popdust as well as sites including TopDust, Chase Bank, P&G, Understood.org, The Richest, GearBrain, The Journiest, Bella, TrueSelf, Better Homes & Gardens, AMC Daycare, and more.

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