Hulu and FX’s The Bear is resonating so strongly with viewers. The Bear might be a fictional account of the type of foul-mouthed chaos that occurs in kitchens big and small across the country, but the show serves up more realism than any reality cooking competition ever can — something we never knew we needed.

As unsexy and gritty as The Bear shows kitchen work to be, for whatever reason, mostly because the internet will always be uncontrollably horny, people are losing their shit over the show’s lead character, Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, played by Jeremy Allen White (shout out to Shameless’ Lip) who exudes a rare sort of sexy scum bag energy that everyone, whether you’ve worked in the restaurant scene or merely observed this phenomenon as a patron, has at one time come across or dated. Or you know, more accurately, just slept with, but they “promise they’ll call you back.”

To be clear, little of this actually has to do with the character White plays on The Bear, and more about the way he looks: greasy, messy, and ready to ask you for rent money.

Tatiana Tenreyro wrote a great piece exploring the phenomenon in a piece for Mel and yesterday Third & Long host and podcaster Sarah York tweeted in a thread,

“I haven’t watched ‘The Bear’ yet but I’m thrilled that people who’ve never worked in a restaurant are being introduced to an exclusive strain of Sexually Competent Dirtbag that only exists in a restaurant kitchen,”

I haven’t watched The Bear yet but I’m thrilled that people who’ve never worked in a restaurant are being introduced to an exclusive strain of Sexually Competent Dirtbag™️ that only exists in a restaurant kitchen pic.twitter.com/ZnZJOdM0l8

— Sarah York (@thesarahyork) July 6, 2022

Prompting many to share their experiences with their own personal Carmys. Take a look at some of the confessions below, but prepare yourself for the reminder that you likely have your own Carmy scars, if you’re not a Carmy yourself.

I worked with this guy in the mid-eighties. Every woman on the staff crushed on him, several had affairs with him, which he inevitably screwed up, and they never got angry with him. Because he was just so sweet.

— The Yellow Kid (@_Yellow_Kid_) July 6, 2022

This is absolutely some guy I would have slept with in my 20s and had him saved in my phone as something like “Guy from bar DO NOT ANSWER”

— Casey K. (@CaseyCannolis) July 6, 2022

Photo | iStock