The internet exploded on Sept. 27 after hearing that Ned Fulmer, former executive producer and member of the YouTube channel “Try Guys,” cheated on his wife Ariel Fulmer.
The Try Guys consisted of Keith Habersberger, Eugene Lee Yang, Zach Kornfeld and Ned Fulmer and followed the four as they tried new things that people wouldn’t usually experience for viewers’ entertainment.
The quartet have recorded episodes in which they have tried on women’s underwear, skydived and did an educational series of “Drunk Vs. High” to show the effects of alcohol and weed while doing everyday actions.
On Monday, Habersberger, Kornfeld and Yang released a YouTube video addressing the situation.
“On Friday, [Sept.] 16, the three of us signed written consent of the members of 2ND Try LLC, approving the removal of Ned as a manager and an employee,” Habersberger said in the video. “We chose not to rush into the announcement for a few reasons. Namely, there are real people who have been affected and while we consider this a company matter, there’s just also a family at the center of this.”
Rumors first appeared on the anonymous social media site Reddit after one user posted Instagram chat screenshots about seeing Ned Fulmer kissing Alex Herring, a “Try Guys” associate producer and fellow YouTuber, on the dance floor in a New York club.
Fans originally ignored the rumors.
It was just another crazy person on social media trying to start an internet drama until users started noticing Ned Fulmer was slowly being edited out (and poorly, I might add).
Since the start of the “Try Guys” series by the popular media entertainment company BuzzFeed in 2014, Ned Fulmer’s entire personality has been glued to the fact that he’s a “wife guy,” which is why longtime fans of the series have been devastated to hear of the affair.
“Wife guys” are men whose fame and accomplishments are owed to the posts they make about their wives and have crafted their entire personalities to it, according to a June 5, 2019 New York Times article.
Ariel Fulmer met Ned Fulmer in 2009 after they both graduated college.
She has appeared in various episodes of the “Try Guys” and has been with them since their days at BuzzFeed before they broke away to start up their own channel.
She and her husband collaborated on “The Date Night Cook Book” in 2021, which features recipes the two have made together on their series “Date Night” and is filled with pictures of the couple kissing, hugging and having fun together.
Ariel Fulmer has also been featured on the “Try Guys podcast” and hosts the podcast “You Can Sit With Us,” which is co-hosted by the significant others of the other Try Guys.
You could say she started everything involving the women, known as Try Wives, and brought a comforting feminine touch to the series from the very beginning.
For longtime fans of the channel, Ned Fulmer cheating on his wife feels like a big fat loogie spit-take to the face followed by an uppercut to the gut.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say “love is dead” at the news of his infidelity.
I do feel like it all but flatlines my trust in the “devoted husband.”
Don’t get me wrong, a loyal partner is all anyone wants and should be the standard. But to craft your entire personality as being the number one spouse of all time only to be revealed as a cheating scumbag would make anyone question others with similar personas.
Ned Fulmer released an apology on social media platforms on Tuesday afternoon, stating that he had a “consensual workplace relationship.”
“Family should have always been my priority, but I lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship. I’m sorry for any pain that my actions may have caused to the guys and the fans but most of all Ariel. The only thing that matters right now is my marriage and my children, and that’s where I am going to focus my attention,” Ned Fulmer stated in an Instagram post.
He has since remained silent on all social media platforms.
The Try Guys have also removed Fulmer’s cartoon icon from all of their socials and replaced them with a triceratops, the official mascot of the Try Guys.
They also announced on social media platforms that Ned Fulmer will no longer be working with them moving forward, making fans wonder if his leaving will be the end of the channel.
Ned Fulmer is being compared to comedian John Mulaney, singer Adam Levine, and Nigerian-American basketball coach Ime Udoka of the Boston Celtics, and fiancé of American actress Nia Long.
All of those guys were devoted “wife guys” until it was discovered they were cheating on their partners.
Hell, I remember being so mad at director Tim Burton for leaving actress Helena Bonham Carter in 2014 that I threw my DVD of “Sweeney Todd” at my bedroom door.
Maybe we should stop idolizing people who make their entire personalities being the “loyal” spouse or partner.
It makes it a lot less crushing for us normies if something goes awry in the celebrity relationship.
But humans are drama-seeking animals. Even the least-dramatic person in the world would love to tell you about the drama in the relationships of celebrity couples.
When we become enticed with celebrity relationships we often compare their accomplishments to our own sad, miserable lives.
Every milestone and romantic gesture is so glamorous that we can’t help but become invested in their successes vs. our own, according to Cosmopolitan’s webpage.
That being said, I’m sad to see a relationship that I grew up with fall apart.
The documentation of Ned and Ariel Fulmer’s love spans years thanks to YouTube.
Fans all over are devastated (and pissed). We had a front row seat to a love that was so genuine and supportive, and we devoured every single post and pic about it.
It goes without saying that sometimes the glamorous lives and relationships of celebrities are a lot grittier than the media we consume makes it out to be.
You never know what pain and heartbreak could be going on behind the fear of public scrutiny for having a breakdown. Because celebrities, no matter how big or small, are still people.
“We ask that you respect the privacy of the family members and employees who may be caught up in this. We also want to remind you that the internet has a tendency to be a lot harsher towards women than men,” Yang said in the YouTube video. “So please, we ask that you exercise kindness.”
Ned Fulmer’s infidelity doesn’t hurt fans as much as it does Ariel Fulmer, their two sons and their fur-baby Bean, the labradoodle.
It’s too early to tell if the relationship will break apart or if the two will continue to try and make things work.
The couple were seen outside together wearing their wedding bands, according to the Page Six webpage, but there were no apparent signs of affection between the two.
“Thanks to everyone who has reached out to me – it means a lot. Nothing is more important to me and Ned than our family, and all we request right now is that you respect our privacy for the sake of our kids,” Ariel Fulmer stated on her Instagram Tuesday.
For now, love isn’t dead, it just should have tried to be better.