Why Did Ned Fulmer Cheat on Ariel? New Podcast Episode Sheds Light on Heartbreak and Guilt

As of September 2025, it’s been three years since Ned Fulmer admitted to having an affair with an employee at his production company and left The Try Guys. Now, he and Ariel Fulmer have spoken out together for the first time on Ned’s new podcast, Rock Bottom. Their conversation opened old wounds but also offered new clarity on the question many fans have been asking since 2022: Why did Ned Fulmer cheat on Ariel?

The episode doesn’t provide one neat answer. Instead, it paints a complicated picture of broken trust, regret, and ongoing pain. Ariel described the moment she learned of the affair, while Ned tried to explain what led him to make choices he now admits were destructive and selfish. The raw exchange shows how heartbreak continues to shape their relationship, even as they move forward separately.

When Ariel bluntly asked him “what happened” on the podcast, Ned admitted that “the dream started to break apart” for him. He said he was too afraid to tell her what he was really feeling and instead made what he called “self-destructive and hurtful” choices. He was careful to say that it wasn’t Ariel’s fault and that their marriage itself wasn’t bad.

For Ariel, that answer did little to lessen the sting. She said the betrayal went beyond the affair itself — it also left her feeling burdened with guilt and shame. On the podcast, she told Ned that his decisions made her feel like she would be forced to carry those emotions for the rest of her life.

Ned pushed back, saying he didn’t think it was fair that society put that weight on her, arguing the shame wasn’t hers to hold. But Ariel’s expression during the exchange said plenty about how little comfort his words offered.

In another moment from Rock Bottom, Ariel made her feelings crystal clear when asked if she had forgiven Ned. Her response was blunt: “Absolutely not. How can you forgive somebody for lying to you? For cheating on you? No. F--k no.”

She described the early years of their marriage as a “fantasy world,” recalling how completely she trusted Ned before the affair. That trust is now gone, and she admitted that she sometimes looks back at the man she thought she knew and wonders, “Who are you?”

Still, Ariel said she finds some relief in the fact that they can still co-parent and spend time together with their kids without constant tension. “We’ve worked through a lot of stuff, and the fact that I can be around you and still have a good time … I think that’s a win,” she told Ned.

Though they appeared together on the podcast, Ned and Ariel confirmed that they are no longer romantically together. They live separately but remain involved in their children’s lives and occasionally go on trips as a family.

Ned put it this way: “There’s a spectrum of being together-not together. There’s ways in which we’re together, but the way that everyone wants to know, like, ‘Are you still a couple?’ No.”

It’s an unusual arrangement, but one that both say allows them to focus on raising their two children while maintaining a measure of stability.

If Ned hoped the podcast would soften public opinion, the TikTok reaction suggests otherwise. Clips of the podcast drew hundreds of comments, and very few offered sympathy for him.

“May this love never find me,” one user wrote. Another said simply, “Him speaking is making my skin crawl.” Several pointed out that his delivery sounded rehearsed, as if he were “pretending to be sad.”

Much of the backlash comes from the gap between Ned’s old “wife guy” image and the reality of his betrayal. For years, his identity in The Try Guys content revolved around being a devoted husband. To many fans, his infidelity didn’t just hurt Ariel — it also undermined the persona they felt they knew.