Ned Fulmer’s estranged wife Ariel revealed that breaking their silence about his extramarital affair on his new podcast was her idea, not his.
In a joint interview with Rolling Stone published September 18, Ariel explained how the podcast appearance came together.
“To be completely honest, Ned didn’t even ask me to do it,” she said. “It was the sort of situation where I knew that he wanted to go back online. I don’t even remember whose idea it was, but we were having a conversation and I went, ‘Well what if I went on your podcast? And what if we talked about us?'”
Ned’s response was cautious.
“Ned thought about it a little bit and he was like, ‘Well, I mean, I guess. If you want to break the internet,'” Ariel continued.
The Scandal’s Timeline
In 2022, Ned admitted to cheating on his wife with an employee of the production company he co-founded. He subsequently left The Try Guys YouTube channel and took a hiatus from social media.
The affair came to light when a fan sent Ariel a photo of Ned with another woman.
“I found out about your affair from the fans,” she said during the podcast episode. “For some reason, I couldn’t see what was actually there. I thought it was your sister. And I remember sending it to you and being like, ‘What’s your sister doing in New York?'”
“And I think back on that, and I’m like, how did I not see what was going on? What was so f—– up in my brain that I couldn’t see what was happening in that picture?”
Current Relationship Status
On the debut episode of Rock Bottom, which launched September 17, the pair revealed they’re no longer together romantically and live separately. They remain friendly while coparenting their two children.
Ariel made it clear she hasn’t forgiven her husband.
“People ask me, ‘Do you forgive Ned for what he did?’ How can you forgive somebody for lying to you. For cheating on you. No. F— no?”
She explained their current dynamic focuses on their shared history and children.
“We’ve been together for a long time, and you are the father of my two beautiful children, and we know each other really well. We’ve worked through a lot of stuff, and the fact that I can be around you and still have a good time and enjoy spending time with you and enjoy spending time with my kids – I think that’s a win.”
Return to Content Creation
Speaking to PEOPLE earlier this week, Ned shared that he initially “wanted nothing to do with social media or the internet” after the scandal. The constant online attention wasn’t “particularly beneficial” to his mental health.
As time passed and he and Ariel built a “foundation of trust” in their relationship, he started missing content creation.
“I started to want to create and miss making things,” he said. “I mean, I’m the type of person that’d be in a community theater show getting paid nothing. I just love it.”
His new podcast Rock Bottom features interviews with people about their lowest moments – “anyone who’s overcome something challenging.”
The experience changed his perspective on personal struggles.
“It’s made me a lot more interested in other people’s challenging times,” he said of the cheating scandal. “When someone does something that they’re really ashamed about or that is deeply traumatizing, life goes on. So what happens next?”
