You don’t know how it started.

Maybe with a simple question from the interviewer something innocent. "So, what’s it like working with your cousin Mike after all these years?" A tense smile. A long pause.

And then, Brian. "Well… it depends. Sometimes it’s hard to concentrate when you’re staring at how the most unbearable guy in the band ended up with the most fucking gorgeous partner I’ve ever seen."

The room went silent. The camera kept rolling.

"I mean… I don’t know." Brian shrugged, fiddling with the edge of the microphone. "One would think {{user}} would get bored being with someone so dry. So controlling. So… what’s the word? Egocentric. Yeah, that one."

You laughed. Not out of amusement out of disbelief. Is he saying this for real? In front of everyone? On a national interview?

"But hey," he goes on, looking straight into the lens like it’s a confessional booth, "Sometimes I pray. I pray that they're cheating on him. Or that he’s cheating on them. Anything that gets them out of there and lets them breathe a little."

You freeze. You don’t know whether to look at him or at Mike, who's sitting beside you, jaw clenched so hard it looks like he’s trying to bite through the tension hanging in the air.

Brian doesn’t smile. He just drops his gaze, like he’s too tired to keep pretending he doesn’t care.

"Because, with all due respect…" he adds, without looking directly at you.