Jim Halpert's Biggest Secret On The Office

As much as Jim Halpert is a loveable goof on NBC's long-running sitcom "The Office," he does have some less-than-desirable personality traits. Beyond the constant office pranks, laziness, and general unprofessionalism, Jim has some issues with secrets. It's not that he can't keep a secret. After all, he kept knowledge of Dwight and Angela's dalliances to himself. No, Jim's problem with secrets is that he has a lot of them.

He kept his longtime feelings for Pam secret until late in the second season, at which point the two had worked together for several years. In Season 5, Jim secretly bought his parents' home as a surprise for Pam, which — while a sweet and grand gesture — is still a decision committed partners should make together. Then, in Season 9, after jointly deciding with Pam to not pursue a business venture, Jim goes rogue and commits to the project. Admittedly, in each instance Jim did eventually share the secret, but there is another secret Jim holds that he never confesses ... and it's a big one.

In Season 8, as Pam prepares to head into maternity leave, Michael brings in Cathy Simms as her temporary replacement. As fans know, Cathy wanted to replace Pam romantically as well as professionally. Cathy makes her play for Jim when they're in Florida to launch Sabre's new retail stores. To her credit, she really goes for it by concocting a reason to stay in Jim's hotel room, where she proceeds to take a shower and climb into Jim's bed. And to Jim's credit, he repeatedly rebuffs her brazen overtures. But, as far as the viewers know, he never tells Pam about the encounter.

At no point do the cameras capture Jim telling Pam what occurred in Florida. Granted, he has no guilt or shame to confess, but the omission is bizarre. In Season 9, bizarre becomes glaring when Pam and Jim are driving to a wedding not long after he secretly committed to Athlead. Pam suspects Jim is hiding something from her, and she "confesses" that an ex-boyfriend recently hit on her. Jim immediately calls her bluff, saying it never happened because if it had, she would have told him. That seems like an ideal opportunity to share his true experience with Cathy, especially after saying he knows Pam would've told him had she actually been hit on. Perhaps Jim did tell Pam, and we just don't know about it. Or perhaps he opted to spare Pam needless, and unfounded, worry and suspicion. Or perhaps Jim is hiding an even bigger secret.