Silas Gonzalez ‘24
You know that one Try Guy who loves his wife? You’re never gonna believe this…
This past Labor Day weekend the Try Guys, a popular YouTube team, learned from fans that their co-worker, Ned Fulmer, had publicly engaged in romantic behavior with an employee of their company. According to member Keith Habersberger, Fulmer confirmed that the reports were true and their affair had been “going on for quite some time.” Behind the scenes and far from fans’ eyes, Fulmer’s scandal initiated almost a month’s worth of Human Resources, Public Resources, employment lawyers, and corporate forms. The review concluded with Fulmer being edited out of videos and removed from all workplace activities. Eugene Lee Yang, Zach Kornfeld, and Habersberger signed a written consent as the members of Second Try LLC to approve the removal of Fulmer as a manager and employee on September 16.
What exactly happened? The Try Guys crafted a media phenomenon trying activities or foods that most would “never try at home.” The band of daredevils garnered great support from their expressive and charming personalities. Ironically, Ned Fulmer was known for talking about his wife, Ariel, and how much he loved her on Try Guys content. Seriously, you could not see one video in which Fulmer talked about his wife (oh wait, we can’t HAH.) Rumors swirled around Reddit and Twitter that Fulmer was cheating on his wife. Imagine the surprise from all faces. The rumors circled back to the Try Guys, who then confronted Ned on the matter.
On Monday, October 3: The Try Guys posted their first video as an official trio in response to the scandal. In a five minute video titled “What Happened,” the remaining members spoke about the timeline behind the departure of resident wife guy Ned Fulmer, who has admitted to a consensual workplace relationship. Keith Habersberger states that, “We just want you to know that we had no idea this was going on,” in order to address rumors that the trio has long been aware of Fulmer’s misconduct towards the employee. “We were always planning on a public statement, and we’re working towards that with our team,” Yang said in the video. “But in light of rapidly accelerating speculation, we knew we couldn’t wait any longer. We were obviously incredibly shocked and deeply hurt by all of this. This is someone who we’d built a brand and a company with for eight years.” Videos with Fulmer have been deemed unreleasable by the team, and the Try Guys express pride in the costly but necessary decision. They closed their response with a friendly reminder that the internet has a tendency to be “a lot harsher towards women than men” and made a request for kindness and privacy for the families and people involved in the situation. “That’s it for now. Again, more to come,” Yang continued. “Things may change. We are just sort of figuring it out all one day at a time.”
As for Ned Fulmer, being divorced from the Try Guys shockingly has not led to being divorced from his wife, Ariel. The paparazzi recently located Fulmer and Ariel at their Tesla, Ariel told the photographers that they are “working things out” to preserve their relationship. Hey, good for them. Fulmer’s own online statement reads that “Family should have always been my priority, but I lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship…I am sorry for any pain that my actions may have caused to the guys and the fans but most of all to Ariel.” Fulmer goes on to say that he will focus more attention on his marriage and children.
For the official Try Guy statement, read here: https://twitter.com/tryguy
For Ned Fulmer’s statement, read here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjBYMTov2-m/
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