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Unless you've told her otherwise, just lie and say that you hadn't heard anything. Applications got lost and thrown away or ignored all the time. Maybe she just didn't make it past the HR department.

It's not your job to get her hired, and it was disrespectful of her to put you down as a reference without asking first. You did the right thing by being honest with your manager.

My dad had a similar experience at his store. (He just works at SaveMart though.) One of his cousins applied for a job, and the managers were interested in hiring him. My dad put in a good word because he thought his cousin would do okay. It turned out his cousin did terribly, was lazy, etc. My dad's manager was complaining to him about it one day, asking my dad what he should do, and my dad was just like, "I'm sorry, I thought he would be doing better. Just fire him. It doesn't bother me."

I butchered the story, but you get the point. Vouching for family is a sensitive subject. Most people assume that just because you're related to them, you'll always talk them up, put in a good word for them, etc. even if they're awful. As for telling them what you did, that's different. I'm usually one who vouches for honesty at all times, but if telling your cousin the truth is going to make your life super miserable, just keep what you said to yourself.

I really like how Ladybird Sauce phrased it. You should at least tell your cousin to ask you first before putting you down as a reference. Emphasize that while you did speak with your manager, it it NOT your job to ensure she gets hired. That is solely the job of the management/hiring team, and if she wants an update, she needs to call them directly and not make you the middle man. I would only refrain from telling her that you said negative things about her, just because if she makes the association "Bonjour Belle talked crap about me to her managers and now they won't hire me!" (Nevermind the fact she's unqualified and lacks experience.) she can accuse you of slander and just generally make a gigantic shitstorm out of this.