By Grady Andersen, Guest Writer 

Former Try Guys member Ned Fulmer returned to online content with his new podcast “Rock Bottom.” 

The former Buzzfeed star had been MIA for three years since it was revealed that he had an ongoing affair with a subordinate and was cheating on his wife. 

The Try Guys were a group of four friends who tried random things and documented what the experience was like. They started off making videos for Buzzfeed, but broke away from the company in 2018 to start their own production company, 2nd Try LLC. By the end of that year, they had amassed over eight million subscribers on their channel. 

The Try Guys have a YouTube channel, with some of their key staples being the “Eat the Menu” and “Without a Recipe” series. While they all had identifiable personality traits, Ned’s thing was being the “wife guy,” bringing up his wife Ariel Fulmer in almost every video. 

Fans first started to become confused when Ned was no longer appearing in videos, as well as suddenly being scrubbed from the intro. After internet sleuths began to comb through each member’s social media, matters became more concerning when Ariel had not appeared in the last two episodes of their podcast, “You Can Sit With Us.”

Reddit users then leaked multiple videos depicting Ned making out with his subordinate in a bar. It did not take very long for the group’s response, as they announced the firing of Ned shortly after. Confirmation of theories came when Ned took to social media, posting on Instagram that he had been unfaithful to his wife. 

The remaining Try Guys pivoted the channel’s content and welcomed various new cast members after the controversy. They also created their own streaming service, 2nd Try, which helped their company’s financial stability following Ned’s firing. 

After three years of silence, Ned released the first episode of his podcast “Rock Bottom.” The episode opens with Ned walking into frame and sitting down. The first part is just an introduction and an update for himself. He explains where he has been and why he needs to have this episode with his now ex-wife be the first. 

The actual interview starts off slightly awkward, but quickly gets into sort of a mundane and somewhat somber tone. They immediately address the elephant in the room and really do not try to hide some of the details of the reactions and such. 

Ariel also did not sugarcoat her feelings, saying she has not forgiven Ned and still has some unresolved feelings with the situation. Overall though, they seemed genuinely content with one another as they still co-parent their two children. 

While it was great to hear from two voices a lot of people have come to know, it sometimes felt uncomfortable. This felt almost too much like it was trying to make content out of something that was buried. 

On top of that, the general reaction was that of annoyance. Social media users felt that Ned did this to try and show that he was not the bad guy, somewhat forcing Ariel to join, even though Ariel has said it was her own idea. 

While the podcast was awkward and somewhat unneeded, it provided insight into the impact that stardom has on these situations.