On Sept. 17, former Try Guy Ned Fulmer — most famously known for cheating on his wife, Ariel — made his return to the internet with his new podcast Rock Bottom. In the over hour-long premiere episode, Ned sits down with Ariel to talk about his very public cheating scandal with his employee, Alexandria Herring. And, let me just say, it’s a lot (of eye-rolling, that is).
If you’re unfamiliar (or employed), lemme catch you up. Back in September 2022, Ned was at the center of a very public cheating scandal — or, as he called it, a “consensual workplace relationship” — with a subordinate at his company, 2nd Try, LLC. Before this, Ned was a popular internet creator who rose to fame in the 2010s due to his involvement with the Try Guys, alongside Keith Habersberger, Zach Kornfeld, and Eugene Lee Yang. Identified as the “wife guy” of the group, Ned referenced and featured his wife, Ariel, often in his content.
After parting ways with the Try Guys’ original network, Buzzfeed, in 2018, the group created their own entertainment company. However, in September 2022, news of the affair set the internet ablaze, causing Ned to leave the Try Guys — which the group addressed in a statement saying, “As a result of a thorough internal review, we do not see a path forward together.”
Shortly after, Ned posted a now-deleted statement addressing the affair, writing in part, “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 to Ariel. The only thing that matters right now is my marriage and my children, and that’s where I’m going to focus my attention.”
After three years of radio silence, Ned came back to the internet on Sept. 16 via an exclusive with PEOPLE, in which he spoke about his new podcast, Rock Bottom. The first episode, released the very next day, featured a conversation with Ariel about the whole scandal. And, OFC, I listened to it so you don’t have to.
Here’s the recap.
Ned started by talking about the affair
Ned opened the episode with an apology for “betraying” Ariel, as well as his co-workers, friends, family, and viewers, saying, “I know it’s not just about cheating. I was a company owner, and having a relationship with a producer who’s engaged and friends with all of our friends and coworkers, it was understandably a messy and devastating situation for everyone involved. And I was the cause of it.”
Now, viewers were quick to call out that Ned referred to Alexandria as his “producer” rather than his employee — which, IMO, is probably the most problematic piece of it. Not lookin’ too hot so far, Ned.
Ariel said she hasn’t forgiven Ned
Let’s be honest — we’re probably all here for Ariel anyway. In the podcast, Ned and Ariel opened up about their relationship after the scandal and revealed that they have separated. “We’ve worked through a lot of stuff,” Ariel said. “And the fact that I can be around you and still like, have a good time and like, enjoy spending time with you, and enjoy spending time with my kids, like, I think that’s a win.”
However, Ariel was candid about the fact that she hasn’t forgiven Ned for cheating on her. “Like people ask me, like, ‘Do you forgive Ned for what he did?’ And I mean, the answer is no — absolutely not,” she said. “How can you forgive somebody for lying to you, for cheating on you? No.”
Ned said that it’s “hard” to hear Ariel say she doesn’t forgive him, and that she’s still “very angry” at him. Ariel responded, “Yeah, of course I’m still angry. We lost a lot there.”
Ariel found out about the affair from a fan
When talking about the affair itself, Ariel said she was “blindsided” when a photo of Ned and Alexandria was sent to her. Initially, she said she thought it was a photo of Ned and his sister, Grace. “I remember sending it to you and being like, ‘What’s your sister doing in New York?'” Ariel said. “And I think back on that and I think, like, what was I… like, how did I not see what was going on?”
Ariel also said that after she asked Ned about the photo, it was as if “the veil just fell.” She said, “When I saw that, like, just wildly guilty look on your face, like you wanted to tell me something, I didn’t even let you say anything.”
The affair impacted Ariel & Ned’s daily life
Beyond impacting their marriage, Ariel and Ned said that the scandal negatively affected their everyday life. “Yes, we are somewhat public figures, but, like, we’ve never had cameras waiting outside of our house,” Ariel said. “This was a period in our lives where we had… like, there was a car following us.”
Ned weiged in, saying, “That was really strange — I can see how that caused you to really feel unsafe and mistrusting of the whole world.”
The two are moving forward with separate projects
At the end of the podcast, Ariel and Ned revealed what their plans are moving forward. For Ned, he’s looking to continue creating as well as hosting future episodes of Rock Bottom, which will focus on interviewing people about their “lowest moments.” As for Ariel, she wants to step away from social media and focus on building her pottery brand — which, yes, means she won’t be returning to her former podcast, You Can Sit With Us, which was hosted alongside the Try Guys’s partners, Becky Haberberger and Maggie Bustamante.
And, there you have it. Now, I will go about my life without watching the next episode. Hope you split my AdSense with Ariel, Ned!