Natalie Dawson: Millionaire CEO sparks viral debate after admitting she fired two staff for cheating

A CEO and leadership expert known for her no-nonsense approach to business has gone viral after revealing she fired two employees who were caught cheating on their partners.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Diary of a CEO podcast, Natalie Dawson shared the story while discussing trust and accountability in the workplace with host Steven Bartlett.

The co-founder of American company Cardone Ventures said she fired a staff member after discovering they were cheating on their significant other with a colleague who was also in a relationship.

“As soon as I found out about it I terminated both of them immediately,” Ms Dawson said, bluntly.

The 32-year-old said she made the decision to rip up their contracts as soon as she “caught wind of it”.

“I can’t have this in my environment,” she explained to Bartlett. “Especially someone close around me. People trust me, and should trust any leader.”

“Am I making someone’s success easy by putting them inside that environment? With people who going to erode the values of the group? No.”

Bartlett pushed back, suggesting her staff’s personal relationships were “none of her business”.

“It is my business,” Ms Dawson replied firmly, noting that the the affair did “happen around work”. She added that even if it hadn’t, her response would have been the same.

“I would fire them immediately...if they are going to cheat on the person they are supposed to spend the rest of their life with, do you think they are cheating on their work?”

“That person, in any environment, is a liability,” she said.

Ms Dawson’s comments blew up online immediately after the episode aired, sparking a fierce debate across social media.

Some have praised her decisive leadership.

“She’s basically saying integrity in your personal life reflects how you’ll handle responsibility at work, that if you betray your partner you might betray your company’s trust too,” one user wrote on X.

“For her to find out about it, it was clearly affecting their work environment. Often office romances can turn ugly making it difficult for everyone around them especially if they are married to other people,” wrote another.

Others, however, think she has crossed a line.

“While the affair is certainly unprofessional and messy, terminating people for actions that happen outside the company, even if they impact judgement, seems like a massive overreach into their private lives,” a third commenter chimed in.

Another said, “I don’t agree with Natalie’s decision. Like, what’s the affair got to do with their work performance? They’re adults, they can manage their personal lives. Firing them is a bit extreme. Unless their affair was affecting the company’s reputation or creating a hostile work environment, it’s none of Natalie’s business.”