By Ellen Efstathiou
Contributor
I got a phone for the first time when I was twelve, which also meant that this was the first time I could access the internet on my own. I spent a decent amount of time on Youtube watching clips from America’s Got Talent, Film Theory, and Buzzfeed. It was 2015, so Buzzfeed basically ran the world, especially on Youtube. Being so prominent on Youtube, a lot of groups who worked there rose to instant fame, including Ned, Eugene, Keith, and Zach-–aka the Try Guys.
The premise for their channel was that they would try anything and everything. This ranged from trying prom dresses to swimming with sharks. I, like many other people, liked them because they were funny and game for anything.
After a while, I stopped watching Buzzfeed videos in general (everyone that was cool there left). I more or less forgot about them for seven years. Then, over the summer I started getting recommended the Try Guys’ videos again, when they were no longer associated with Buzzfeed, and I watched a few for old times sake. I still found their videos enjoyable, and their personalities to be a big draw.
Then the internet found out that Ned was cheating on his wife. Videos of him with one of his employees holding hands in public or making out at clubs were sent to his wife, Ariel, the other Try Guys, and were posted on Reddit.
None of this would have been as bad as it is, if it wasn’t for the fact that Ned was branded as the “wife guy” of the group. Since the beginning, he has said the phrase “my wife” in almost every video that the Try Guys have made. You can even find compilations of him saying it. While it did have a bit of an “annoying couple that won’t leave each other alone” vibe to it, it was also cute to see that a couple could stay so in love. This type of relationship was idolized, especially by younger people that didn’t want to become every boomer that says they hate their wife. It was also great to see a guy that’s a more stereotypical “dude’s dude” showing these emotions.
Regardless of how he felt about the person he cheated with or his wife, there were larger consequences that he should have considered. He cheated with a person that worked at the Try Guys, which put the entire company in danger of a lawsuit for an inappropriate workplace relationship. Regardless of how “consensual” he says the relationship was, there is no way for it to be consensual with the power imbalance that was present in the relationship. Which means he doesn’t understand the definition of consensual. He also brought Ariel into his work. She is in innumerable videos, she is in podcast episodes, they wrote a cookbook together. He has made her be in the public eye. And now, he has publicly cheated on her.
You also have to take into account the fact that this is going to be on the internet forever. The Try Guys started on Youtube, which already makes them feel more homegrown than other celebrities. They are first and foremost, internet celebrities. Also, Ned and Ariel have two kids together which means that when those kids grow up they are going to be able to see all the comments and posts and videos that people have made about this. Since the internet is still relatively recent, we don’t know the exact consequences that this sort of thing can have on the parent-child relationship or the mental health of the child, but it most likely isn’t great.
Luckily, the internet does seem to be taking Ariel’s side and not blaming her for Ned’s cheating. In fact, a lot of comments show that people think that Ariel has always been the better one of the two of them. She was in some of the videos I watched over the summer and I found her to be insightful and intelligent. The fact that Ned had to make another person his personality shows how much personality he has.
Of course, hindsight is 20/20. I think that it is often the case that as soon as something bad comes out about someone everyone jumps to say that they knew the person was awful before it all happened. If you go to Youtube and look up Ned Fulmer you will find compilation videos along the lines of “Ned Moments that Aged like Milk.” You will also find comments of people saying things like they never liked him, he was the worst Try Guy, there was always something off about him, and other such sentiments. I don’t think that you could have easily found these sentiments before this happened, but I do think he has always been a bit of a frat bro. When I was regularly watching their videos, I would get frustrated when he would try and ruin the other guys’ things just because he felt he wasn’t doing well.
Overall, this entire scenario sucks. I feel bad for Ariel and their kids and what they are going to have to deal with in the immediate future. She’s already getting harassed by paparazzi wanting to know what she’s planning to do. Obviously, no one deserves this sort of scrutiny about their private life. However, I think it’s important to look at this situation and see what signs were there all along. This was not the first time that something like this has happened, and it certainly will not be the last time.