The Try Guys debacle, and their apology video, get the SNL treatment

Updated October 9, 2022 at 1:02 PM ET

One of The Try Guys, Ned Fulmer, has been released from the show after he admitted to cheating on his wife, Ariel Fulmer, with an employee of the show.

"Family should have always been my priority, but I lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship," Fulmer said. "I'm sorry for any pain my actions 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."

The show, in which four guys try things like colonics, wig making and tap dancing for the first time, has since severed ties with Fulmer, saying in a statement, "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."

On Monday, Eugene Lee Yang, Zach Kornfeld and Keith Habersberger, the three remaining members of The Try Guys released a statement on their YouTube channel saying Fulmer is no longer working with the group or their company.

"From the jump we were acutely aware of just how contrary this was to the values of the company we built and those of everyone who works here," Yang said. "This is something we took very seriously, we refused to sweep anything under the rug. That is not who we are and not what we stand for."

The trio's announcement video was spoofed on Saturday Night Live, though several users said the skit missed the mark.

The Try Guys explain Fulmer's removal

In the five-minute video, the remaining members of the team explained the transparency behind their decision and the timeline of events.

"We immediately removed Ned from work activities and engaged an HR professional to conduct a thorough review of the facts.," Kornfeld said. "We also opted to remove Ned from our releases pending the results of that review. There are several videos that we have deemed as fully unreleasable, you will never see them, and that is due to his involvement."

Habersberger said, "We found that Ned had engaged in conduct unbecoming of our team and we knew that we could not move forward with him. So on Friday, September 16th, the three of us signed written consent of the members of Second Try LLC approving the removal of Ned as a manager and an employee.

"We chose not to rush into the announcement for a few reasons," Habersberger added. "Namely, there are real people who have been affected. And while we consider this a company matter, there's just also a family at the center of this."

The team members said they will soon begin figuring out what the next phase of their channel will look like. They thanked their supporters and Kornfeld said, "We look forward to introducing you to the next era of the Try Guys ahead."

Who are The Try Guys?

The Try Guys was started by former BuzzFeed employees Fulmer, Yang, Habersberger and Kornfeld during their time at the company. They made their first video trying ladies' underwear for the first time in 2014.

Their videos amassed about 100 million views on the BuzzFeed YouTube channel. The quartet left the outlet in 2018 to start their own production company and channel. Their independent channel has almost 2.2 billion views and 7.8 million subscribers.

Ariel Fulmer appeared alongside her husband in several videos doing DIYs, and as part of the group's "Try Wives" series.

"The end of an era"

Devin Lytle, a former BuzzFeed producer for its show "Lady Like," which she described as a woman version of "The Try Guys," said Fulmer's departure from the show is "the end of an era."

"BuzzFeed was kind of leading the way on different formats of what became popular and a lot of it was done through experimentation," she said. "And The Try Guys ... were really on the cutting edge of a lot of that."

Lytle also said she felt BuzzFeed employees at the time were pigeonholed into creating an online persona, and Fulmer crafted a brand image as a doting and devoted husband.

"I think something that really struck with the folks is the fact that Ned marketed himself as like the family guy, wife guy," she said. "And I think that's what is so shocking about ... the truth that has come out about this relationship."

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