Inside the YouTube group drama that’s captivating the whole world

First comedian John Mulaney, then Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, and now YouTube star Ned Fulmer. When will high-profile men who make loving their wife their brand stop allegedly cheating on them? It’s looking like not anytime soon.

Rumours on social media platforms Reddit, Twitter and TikTok swirled around the Try Guys group in September after footage of Fulmer seemingly kissing a colleague at a New York City bar circulated. Fans then noticed Fulmer had been edited out of recent Try Guys videos and introductions, and had been removed from a promo for the group, which only fanned the flames.

Days later, Fulmer released a statement confirming his infidelity, sending long-time fans into meltdown. The Try Guys and Fulmer’s wife also released their own statements, signalling the end of an era.

Here’s everything you need to know about why founding member Ned Fulmer is no longer a part of the Try Guys.

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Who are the Try Guys?

The Try Guys rose to viral fame on YouTube via Buzzfeed in 2014, before striking out on their own in 2018.

The group originally consisted of former BuzzFeed employees Keith Habersberger, Ned Fulmer, Zach Kornfield and Eugene Lee Yang, who basically do what their name states – they try things.

Since becoming an independent brand and company in 2018, the Try Guys have amassed over eight million followers and have a loyal fanbase. Often, their videos include personal tidbits about their lives, and Fulmer in particular was known as the ‘the Wife Guy’ considering he would spend almost every chance he could publicly gushing over his wife, Ariel Fulmer.

Fulmer’s Instagram bio, for example, reads: “Comedian and #1 NYT Bestseller (aka [Ariel Fulmer]’s Husband).

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Who is Ned Fulmer and why is he not in the Try Guys anymore?

Fulmer, 35, is a comedian, author and actor, who is best known as (formerly) being part of the Try Guys quartet. He has been married to Ariel Fulmer, 35, since 2012, and the couple share two sons, Wesley and Finn.

Ariel herself has also starred in various Try Guys productions, including their podcast You Can Sit With Us – though she was noticeably absent from the last two episodes. Ariel and Yang are also known to be particularly close friends.

On September 27, after days of speculation as to if Fulmer was still in the Try Guys considering he had been edited out of their recent material, the group released an official statement via Instagram confirming the foursome is now a threesome.

”Ned Fulmer is no longer working with The Try Guys,” the statement began. “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.”

Fulmer and Ariel also released statements of their own, confirming infidelity on Fulmer’s part. They did not, however, name who Fulmer’s affair partner was.

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What happened between Ned Fulmer and Alex Herring?

Within one hour of the Try Guys’ official statement confirming Fulmer’s departure from the group being posted, Fulmer posted a statement of his own to Instagram.

”Family should have always been my priority, but I lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship,” Fulmer 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.”

Ariel, meanwhile, wrote to her followers on Instagram: ”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.”

Though neither statement named Alexandria Herring, Fulmer’s rumoured affair partner, fans were quick to point fingers at her due to a video that had been circulating on social media since late September.

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Who is Alex Herring?

Alexandria Herring is an Associate Producer for the Try Guys, who started working behind-the-camera for the group before becoming an on-camera star in her own right as one of the company’s two Food Babies. Fulmer was effectively Herring’s boss.

A video of who appeared to be Herring and Fulmer kissing at a New York City bar was shared to a Reddit thread that was popularised on September 26, and circulated further on Twitter and TikTok.

Fans then began to look for further evidence of Fulmer’s infidelity to see if it was true, which is when they noticed he had not appeared in the last three Try Guys videos or introductions, nor the last three podcast episodes. As a founding member and executive producer, this was an absence that spoke volumes.

It was then noticed that both Fulmer and Herring had appeared in an Instagram photo together from filming promoting Habersberger’s Eat the Menu series at a buffet in Ceasar’s Palace, but they were not featured in the final cut of the video.

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All three of the remaining Try Guys had also unfollowed Herring and Fulmer on social media prior to the official statement’s release, as had YB Chang, Herring’s fellow Food Baby and a senior editor at Try Guys.

Will Thayer, Herring’s long-time partner and fiancé, also unfollowed Herring, removed all photos of them from his Instagram page, and made his account private before eventually deleting it.

Herring has not commented on the allegations, though photos of she and Thayer remain on her Instagram page. He, however, is no longer tagged in them.

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New Try Guys triad try explaining what happened in emotional video statement

Exactly one week after releasing their brief statement to their Instagram page confirming Fulmer was no longer a part of the group, the new Try Guys triad published an emotional five-minute video statement where they explained what happened – within their legal parameters – and how they were planning on moving forward.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to fully articulate the pain we feel at this moment,” Kornfeld said. “We’re losing a friend, we’re losing someone we built the company with, [who] we have countless memories with.”

“Eugene’s rage, Zach’s sadness, and Keith’s disappointment is so evident,” one user wrote in the comments of their YouTube video. “So heartbreaking. We love you all so much. We know your hearts.”

In the video, the trio explained the timeline of them discovering Fulmer’s infidelity, the investigation into the incident as it was with one of their employees, and Fulmer’s subsequent departure from the group.

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Yang, Kornfeld and Habersberger revealed allegations of Fulmer’s relationship with a Try Guys employee reached them on the US Labour Day weekend, which occurred from September 4 to 5, roughly three weeks before their public statements were issued.

“We reached out to check on that employee, Ned confirmed the reports, and since confirmed that this had been going on for some time,” Habersberger said. “Which was obviously very shocking to us, and we just want you to know that we had no idea that this was going on.”

Thus, a three-week process of ”engaging with employment lawyers, corporate lawyers, HR, PR and more, in order to make sure we were taking all necessary steps” began, which ultimately concluded with the removal of Fulmer from all work activities, including pre-filmed ad pre-shot releases, which explains why fans had noticed his sections being edited out of videos.

“From the jump, we were acutely aware of just how contrary this was to the company we’ve built and the values of everyone who works here,” Yang said, adding that the cheating scandal was something they “refused to sweep under the rug.”

Yang concluded: ”The internet tends to be a lot harsher on women than men, please we ask that you exercise kindness.”

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