The Try Guys, a YouTube group famous for their stunt videos and series spanning comedy, food, and entertainment, are officially a trio. The group, which consisted of Ned Fulmer, Eugene Lee Yang, Zach Kornfield, and Keith Habersberger, announced Tuesday that Fulmer was out of the group.
“Ned Fulmer is no longer working with The Try Guys,” the official Instagram account posted in a statement. “As a result of a thorough review, we do not see a path forward together. We thank you for your support as we navigate this change.” The news comes after several days of allegations that there was an internal conflict going on in the group.
Following the official Try Guys statement, Fulmer confirmed the news, saying it was due to a relationship with a co-worker. He also apologized to his wife, Ariel Fulmer, with whom he shares two children.
“Family should have always been my priority, but I lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship,” Fulmer said Tuesday. “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.”
The group is best known, as the name implies, for being guys who try things. The Try Guys became extremely popular for their videos with Buzzfeed, trying activities as small as baking bread without a recipe and as large as racing dog sleds across an Alaskan glacier.
In 2018, the Try Guys left the media organization to form their own production company and have been praised for their inventive video ideas and seemingly authentic appreciation of their fanbase. The Try Guys have been nominated for several Streamy awards and currently host the Food Network series No-Recipe Road Trip, where the group visits restaurants across the country and attempts to recreate their signature dishes without a recipe. (Food Network did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.)
According to several viral Reddit threads, fans began noting discrepancies in the group’s new content last week, specifically surrounding Fulmer. Their video intros, which usually contain montage photos or ads with all four members, were suspiciously lacking photos of Fulmer. Followers also began to point out places in recent Youtube videos where Fulmer was not included in the final product. In recent videos like “Try Guys Ruin Chocolate Eclairs” and “Try Guys Try Stand-Up Comedy,” fans claimed that Fulmer appeared to be edited out of the video.
Fulmer was also noticeably present in the last three episodes of the Try Guy’s podcast and has not been featured on the posse’s Instagram since September 4. Last week, the group announced it would be moving to a one video per week schedule instead of their more consistent content rollout. While the Try Guys said the new schedule was to help them focus on bigger holiday content, longtime viewers seemed to take the news as further evidence of a rift.
So when several Reddit users posted two blurry photos of a person they claimed to be Fulmer dancing and kissing with someone who they claimed was a Try Guy producer, the threads went viral — with fans pointing out Fulmer appeared to be cut out of recent videos and content. Fans appear to feel specifically shocked over the alleged infidelity due in part to Fulmer’s branding as a self-proclaimed “wife guy” and family man. Fulmer’s wife Ariel has been heavily involved in the group’s content, continually appearing in videos and also starring in the Try Guys-produced podcast You Can Sit With Us. She and Fulmer also published a date night-themed cookbook together.
Some fans even began commenting on the couple’s Instagram accounts, sending love to Ariel and asking Ned to address the rumors.
“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,” Ariel said Tuesday.
Both Fulmers have since limited the comments on their Instagram accounts and none of the Try Guys responded to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
With Fulmer and the group’s official statements, it’s clear a new iteration of The Try Guys is on its way. The crew of friends has already weathered major transitions in their members’ lives — including marriages, coming out announcements, health problems, and children — without major dips in their followings. But each of those milestones were handled as a team, which could make fans hesitant to imagine a future that doesn’t involve all of the group’s original members. At least at the moment, The Try Guys have fans and casual viewers alike desperate to know more, priming the ground for the inevitable tell-all YouTube videos. “Why I Left The Try Guys” does have a good ring to it.