Ned Fulmer has been kicked out of The Try Guys after allegations of him cheating with an employee broke out.
For those not in the know, the group comprises former Buzzfeed video producers turned YouTube stars. Fulmer was known as the man who can’t stop talking about his wife and kids in their videos where they, well, try things.
The Try Guys announced their decision to part ways with Fulmer today, Sept. 28. Fulmer also released his own statement confirming and apologizing to his fans and his wife Ariel for having a workplace affair.
The statement published by The Try Guys reads: “Ned Fulmer is no longer working with The Try Guys. As a result of a thorough internal review, we do not see a path forward together. We thank you for your support as we navigate this change.” No word yet whether this means he’s been completely removed from 2nd Try, LLC as an executive producer and partner, or just removed from being one of the faces of its flagship brand The Try Guys.
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Fulmer left much to be desired from his public apology, which fans are calling “generic” and “half-assed.” It echoes similar Hollywood apologies that seem to partly deflect the weight of their action and make it seem like focusing on one’s marriage and children is something to be done after the fact.
“Family should have always been my priority, but I lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship,” he wrote. “I’m sorry for any pain that my actions may have caused to the guys and the fans but most of all to 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.”
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Fulmer’s wife Ariel spoke about how they’re working through this together in her statement. “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,” she wrote.
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While Fulmer kept the name of the employee he cheated with from his statement, the viral allegations claim that it’s The Try Guys associate producer and one-half of The Food Babies Alex Herring. Herring has yet to address the issue.
Whether the claim is true or not, it’s a good decision for 2nd Try, LLC to put the bulk of responsibility on Fulmer since he’s in a position of power. It also does not play into the double standard placed on women’s sexuality when the “homewrecker” myth is being thrown around.
However, some fans have concerns over the move coming off as puritanical. What can be gathered, at least from the Fulmers’ statements, is that Ned Fulmer cheated. The inherent abuse of power on display considering the nature of the relationship remains unaddressed.
How Fulmer wrecked his own family brand
If you’ve seen the issue unfold online, you may be wondering why a number of fans seemed bent on uncovering the truth. It’s possibly because Fulmer built his personal brand off of being a devout family man. The Fulmers were releasing products like “The Date Night Cookbook,” hosted a parenting podcast together, and even did a panel on relationship ethics.
For him to cheat, with a subordinate no less, felt like a big betrayal to fans. Some netizens have even likened it to alleged cheating scandals from fellow “wife guys” John Mulaney and Adam Levine. This is why people get trust issues.
Fulmer’s fall from grace began on Reddit: The allegations started when Reddit user hamilton390—believed to be Herring’s fiance Will Thayer III—published a now-deleted post on Sept. 3 on r/TheTryGuys claiming that Fulmer did something bad. When prompted for evidence by fellow user Laurasarus_, hamilton390 posted screenshots of an Instagram conversation where one person alleged that they saw Fulmer and Herring making out at a New York dive bar called Niagara, along with a video of the alleged incident. The recipient, which seems to be hamilton390, claimed that they spoke with Fulmer’s wife Ariel for an hour after receiving the message.
Suspicions were further fueled by recent Try Guys content. Fans noticed that Fulmer was missing from the three latest episodes of “The TryPod” and the three latest videos on The Try Guys channel. Fulmer is even absent from the channel’s usual intro, which has now been replaced by merch ads featuring the other Try Guys. Ariel has also been absent from the recent episodes of the “You Can Sit With Us” podcast.
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Fans observed that Fulmer seems to have been edited out of episodes, posting “evidence” that he was present during the shoots. They’ve also connected it to the “one video a week” announcement from the channel for the month of October—maybe a way of buying time to work on content without their wife guy.
Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising details are the Instagram unfollows. Thayer removed photos of Herring on his Instagram before unfollowing her and going private. The Try Guys senior editor and the other half of “The Food Babies” YB Chang has unfollowed both Fulmer and Herring, and Fulmer and Herring have also unfollowed each other.
As mentioned earlier, the allegations come as a shock to some because of Fulmer’s big wife and family guy reputation. Could this be the final straw that will put wife guys out of fashion? “Wife Guys aren’t just men who are married, they’re men who won’t shut up about how married they are,” Buzzfeed (kind of ironic, we know) writes in a criticism. “If the Wife Guys are cheating, is anyone loyal? Who can you trust if not the men who are effusively, publicly, and industrially talking about how much they love their wives?”
Note to self: Maybe refrain from developing parasocial relationships with wife guys. Hollywood statistics seem to tell us that they’re not actually less likely to hurt their partner.
Art by Ella Lambio
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