381: Ned Fulmer on Cheating, Scandal & Losing It All | The HoneyDew with Ryan Sickler #381

Summary

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The HoneyDew with Ryan Sickler

Episode 381: Ned Fulmer on Cheating, Scandal & Losing It All

Release Date: April 13, 2026

Guest: Ned Fulmer
Theme: Laughing at life’s lowest moments—Ned Fulmer on public scandal, marriage, MS, and rebuilding after personal and professional loss.

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Overview

In this episode, Ryan Sickler sits down with Ned Fulmer—best known as a founding member of the Try Guys—to deeply explore a series of significant low points: his MS diagnosis, his rise and fall in internet fame, and the high-profile cheating scandal that ended his marriage and career with the Try Guys. The conversation, marked by candor and vulnerability, traces Ned’s journey through public and private pain, growth, and the realities of living your mistakes online.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Ned’s Upbringing and Early Life

• [05:00] Ned grew up in Jacksonville, Florida (“fish out of water in the South” [05:03]) with parents from New York/Boston. His father was a doctor, mother in arts education.
• [06:14] “Bit of a golden boy”—excelled in school, attended Yale, majored in sciences but drawn toward arts and comedy.
• [07:26] Post-college improv and sketch in Chicago; began dabbling in YouTube content before fully committing to entertainment.

Entry Into Entertainment and BuzzFeed Fame

• [09:53] After moving to LA, Ned started at BuzzFeed (“big media company growing a lot in the mid 2010s” [09:53]).
• [23:35] Meteoric rise as part of viral video teams; coupled with an expanding social media presence alongside his wife.
• [24:44] Early on, Ned leaned into a brand as “the wife guy,” co-creating couple content.
  • “I made some reference in the very first Try Guys video to ‘my wife’ … it became a catchphrase … then it really became seemingly something I was known for.” [24:44]

Health Crises: Knee Injury and MS Diagnosis

• [10:45] In 2012-2013, suffered two serious health events:
  1. Septic knee from a paintball accident—three weeks in hospital.
  2. [13:50] Multiple Sclerosis (MS) episode: sudden numbness, partial paralysis, formal diagnosis at 25.
     • “There’s a lot of fear … I know it’s going to get worse someday … but I don’t know when or how.” [16:09]
• [20:16] His health struggles led to reevaluating life and career, pushing him to take a risk in LA.

Living with MS and Coping Mechanisms

• [20:35] Ned describes coping through denial—“push it way down and be in denial,” only confronting MS when doing bi-daily injections.
• [22:45] Ongoing numbness/tingling, panic over relapsing symptoms, and how stress/temperature affect his MS.

Marriage, Family, and Blurred Boundaries

• [23:35] Ned married young (“met at 22,” [10:30]), moved cross-country with his wife, had two children.
• [25:23] Admits to blurred lines between public/private life.
  • “I always felt this pressure to post … show the more rosy side … over time, it became really exhausting and made it … further and further away from the truth.” [25:49]

The Cheating Scandal: How It Happened (In Ned’s Words)

• [29:01] Ned admits to an affair with his producer, an employee at his own company.
  • “We got caught together … making out on a dance floor after a Harry Styles concert.” [29:35]
  • Recognized by fans; a screen grab video was shared with both their partners and colleagues.
• [30:23] “Pretty much all the important people in our life found out simultaneously by [someone] sending it to my ex-wife, her ex-fiancé … people that we worked with in our office.” [30:23]
• [31:06] Ned describes relief at being “forced to stop living a double life.”
  • “Sometimes I think subconsciously I must have wanted to get caught … you are forced to stop living a double life and start to come to terms with why you're doing it and what it means for your life.” [31:54]

Aftermath: Fallout, Firing, and Coping

• [33:16] Ned came clean to his wife after she received the evidence.
• [39:01] Ned was asked to leave the family home and lived in a hotel; also describes confrontation/threats from the affair partner’s fiancé.
• [42:09] “It goes from a private thing … to a very public thing, where I very publicly get fired from my job.” [42:13]
  • The scandal erupted online after he was noticeably edited out of content; widespread speculation turned into headlines when his firing was announced.
• [44:00] Attended a treatment facility for a “therapeutic separation,” compared his cycles to addiction, and noted relief from “unplugging” due to overwhelming internet attention.

Repair and Co-Parenting

• [46:22] Intensive individual and couples therapy, including full revelations to rebuild trust for the sake of co-parenting.
  • “...to write out all the things that I did and all of the secrets … so then she knows exactly what's, like, true and what's not … that's kind of like a baseline that you can rebuild your sense of trust off of.” [46:22]
• [47:58] Acknowledges devastation, guilt, and the weight of public shame—“Everything I knew about my life kind of collapsed in the span of a weekend or a month.” [47:58]
• [51:12] Some friends and family remained supportive (“My friend group and a lot of our friends as couples were really supportive of just, hey, like, we understand you’re working through a lot…” [51:12])

Reflections and Lessons Learned

• [48:21] “I think I cheated because I was selfish and unhappy and didn’t have the tools to understand that emptiness.” [48:21]
• [54:26] “It’s not just my ex-wife, but all of the people involved, people at my office … and then there’s everyone out [in] the public that had been following our story … people, they felt a sense of betrayal as well.” [54:26]
• [55:15] Ned admits he “was losing his mind” and would have eventually had to confess—“So there’s a small part of you that’s just like, okay, yeah, it’s over.” [55:50]
• [57:42] On rebuilding: “At least … there wasn’t anything that I was hiding anymore. And I can just … try to build up myself as best as I can.” [57:42]

The Internet, Infamy, and New Beginnings

• [58:18] Ned recognizes his digital infamy is permanent—“It’ll follow you.” [58:19]
• [59:19] More honest in new relationships, open to marriage again but emphasizes clear communication and boundaries.
  • “I’ll say what’s happening, even to my detriment.” [59:19]
• [61:07] Now able to co-parent and travel with his ex-wife civilly: “I think we’re a great team and I’m really grateful for all of that work … we’re able to go on trips together … and provide a new sense of family.” [61:07]

AEW Wrestling and Post-Scandal Projects

• [62:05] Ned describes wrestling for AEW (“no, I felt like I was in a car accident…” [62:29]), pursuing stunt-driven content after his internet infamy.
• [65:13] Advice to teenage self:
  • “Try to stay true to yourself and not always try to people please or … do things to get other people’s approval. … Don’t be afraid to say hard things.” [65:13]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I was unhappy and I didn’t have the tools to understand that unhappiness and that emptiness.” – Ned Fulmer [48:21]
• “It was this really sudden shift of being able-bodied to being essentially paralyzed.” – Ned Fulmer on his MS [17:09]
• “I don’t think we drew that line very well … I always felt this pressure to post and show the more rosy side … it became exhausting.” – Ned Fulmer [25:49]
• “Sometimes I think subconsciously I must have wanted to get caught … you are forced to stop living a double life.” – Ned Fulmer [31:54]
• “Everything I knew about my life kind of collapsed in the span of a weekend or a month.” [47:58]
• “At least then there wasn’t anything that I was hiding anymore. And I can just exist as myself and just try to build up myself as best as I can.” [57:42]
• “The Internet’s a forever dick.” – Ryan Sickler [57:54]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Ned’s Early Life & Yale/Chicago years: [05:00]–[09:53]
• Serious Health Crises / MS: [10:45]–[17:00]
• Marriage & Professional Ascent: [20:16]–[25:49]
• Cheating Scandal—Confession and Fallout: [29:01]–[39:05]
• Firing and going public: [42:13]–[44:00]
• Therapy, Trust-Rebuilding: [46:22]–[47:58]
• Reasons for Cheating, Reflection: [48:21]–[50:42]
• Co-Parenting and Friendship with Ex: [61:07]
• AEW and New Directions: [62:05]
• Advice to Teenage Self: [65:13]

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Tone & Style

Candid, self-deprecating, and at times painfully honest, Ned doesn’t shy away from taking responsibility or expressing the messy emotional reality of public personal failure. Ryan’s supportive, irreverent style keeps the mood honest, with moments of dry humor and empathetic probing.

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Final Thoughts

This episode stands as a raw, unvarnished look at the cost of public mistakes, the complexity of private pain, and the slow—sometimes public—process of putting a life and family back together. Both fans and those unfamiliar with Ned’s story will find deep, relatable lessons about honesty, self-awareness, and forging new paths after “rock bottom.”

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Transcript

[Ned Fulmer]

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[Ryan Sickler]

Alert your doctor right away as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems or muscle

[Ned Fulmer]

weakness can be signs of a life threatening condition. Patients with these conditions before before injection are at highest risk.

[Ryan Sickler]

Side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue and headache.

[Ned Fulmer]

Allergic reactions can include rash, welts, asthma symptoms and dizziness. Don't receive Botox if there's a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions including als, Lou Gehrig's disease, Myasthenia gravis or Lambert Eaton syndrome and medications including Botulinum toxins as these

[Ryan Sickler]

may increase the risk of serious side effects. Why wait?

[Ned Fulmer]

Ask your doctor, visit botoxchronicmigraine.com or call 1-844-BOTOX to learn more.

[Ryan Sickler]

Buffalo, NY I'm headed your way. I'll see you guys Friday, April 24th and Saturday, April 25th hey guys, exciting announcement. We are doing a live Way Back at the Netflix Is a Joke festival. It's Monday, May 5th at 7pm at the Hotel Cafe Main Stage. It's our first live ever way Back we're going to have a special guest. We're going to have prizes. We're going to have gifts. We're going to do some fun stuff with you guys as well. So get your tickets now for the Netflix Is a Joke Festival live way back Monday, May 5, 7pm at the Hotel Cafe Boston I'm fired up to head back your way. I'll be there Friday, May 15th and Saturday, May 16th Albuquerque, New Mexico I'll be there Friday, June 5th and Saturday, June 6th Tulsa, Oklahoma I'll be there Friday, June 19th and Saturday, June 20th all tickets on my [e-mail] hey, guys, we have a new segment on the way back called after the Beep. We got a new landline and an old school answering machine and we want to hear from you. Call 323-452-3732 and leave a message. Hit us with things like craziest high school moment, worst job, dumbest injury, worst trouble. Maybe something you got away with, or maybe you're looking for some old school advice on relationships, jobs even. Am I the asshole? Or keep it quick. Confessions, weird habits, the worst advice you ever got. We'll play them back and react. Keep it under 60 seconds. Anything longer than that, we ain't listening. All right, full segments are only available on Patreon, so give us a ring. 323-452-3732 and leave a message after the Beat. The Honeydew with Ryan Sickler. Welcome back to the Honeydew, y'. All. We're over here doing it in the Night Pants Studios. I am Ryan Sickler. Thank you guys for supporting this show. I'm very excited to get this thing going today. You know, before I say that, actually come see me on tour. Get all your tickets on my [e-mail] that's all we're going to do for the biz right now. I'm very excited to introduce our guest here today. You know, I say these are the stories behind the storytellers. I'm very excited to have this guest here with us. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Ned Fulmer. Welcome to the Honeydew Net.

[Ned Fulmer]

Thanks for having me.

[Ryan Sickler]

Thank you for being here. Ned, before we get into whatever we're going to chat about today right there, promote everything you'd like, please.

[Ned Fulmer]

Sure. You can follow me at YouTube.com Ned Fulmer and check out my podcast, the Rock Bottom Podcast.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right. Well, we met today.

[Ned Fulmer]

We did.

[Ryan Sickler]

I've read a little history about you, and as I said to you when I walked in, I like to ask and just make sure the stuff I read on the Internet is true because we had Kevin Neal. And I said, hey, man, I read that you had a brother who was murdered at 12. And he's like, that's not true.

[Ned Fulmer]

Which is a horrible thing to put out there. Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

So, Ned, let's just start at the beginning for you. Where are you originally from? What? Tell me about your family.

[Ned Fulmer]

I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Ned Fulmer]

My dad was a doctor. My mom worked in arts education, and both of them were from New York and Boston. So I Kind of grew up like a fish out of water in the South.

[Ryan Sickler]

What's bringing them down to Jacksonville?

[Ned Fulmer]

My dad's job. He like, got his med school paid for by agreeing to go like, wherever just to do public health.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Ned Fulmer]

So kind of random talking to you

[Ryan Sickler]

about Duvall over there before. Yeah. Because you guys, Jacksonville used to be in the Ravens division, and I was telling you, Jimmy Smith would just beat our ass.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah. So it was a very, like something else impressionable youth in that, you know, 8, 9, 10, 11 years old. And it's just for. For better or worse, I'm a Jaguars fan for life now.

[Ryan Sickler]

Well, you got a good squad now, that's for sure. Okay, so how and how many siblings you have?

[Ned Fulmer]

I have a younger sister.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay, so the four of you guys are in Jacksonville and that's where you're growing up? That's where you. High school?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, I lived in the same house the entire 18 years of growing up, and my parents still have it, actually.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, yeah. Okay. And then what next college? What do you do? You had all to do, what a

[Ned Fulmer]

bit of a golden boy. I did really well in school.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay.

[Ned Fulmer]

And I went to Yale University, actually.

[Ryan Sickler]

You went to Yale? Okay.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah. And then after that I.

[Ryan Sickler]

Did you do well at Yale? That's hard to say. Did you do well at Yale?

[Ned Fulmer]

I did okay. I think my first year was pretty good. And then I started getting more into the, you know, extracurricular, like theater and film stuff, kind of at the detriment of my science classes.

[Ryan Sickler]

I got it.

[Ned Fulmer]

They also had the science classes like up a big hill. It's like, really, you got to really want to go there at 8:30 in the morning. It's like a 20 minute walk.

[Ryan Sickler]

Come on, man.

[Ned Fulmer]

Come on. Where's my Zoom class? Class? Yeah, that would have been way better. And so then I, you know, I wanted to be in the entertainment industry and wanted to do comedy, write comedy. And I had a mentor that said, hey, instead of moving to LA right away, you know, get involved in YouTube stuff. If you want to move to Chicago, like, move there first, you're never going to go to la. And then Chicago, you're probably going to go to Chicago and then la. So I lived in Chicago for about five years after graduating, doing a bunch of live shows and writing, and started getting involved in making YouTube videos.

[Ryan Sickler]

So you were, were you doing stand up improv? A bit of all of it.

[Ned Fulmer]

Improv and sketch.

[Ryan Sickler]

Chicago is the improv?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah. Were you doing like I.O. west or second City?

[Ned Fulmer]

The Annoyance.

[Ryan Sickler]

I mean, I say west because that's

[Ned Fulmer]

out here, but I. Oh, yeah, improv.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay. And then you're also younger, so your wheelhouse. So for us, it was always do that and then try to go get on tv.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah. You know, it was now in Chicago. It was still like, oh, SNL scouts are. Are coming every summer.

[Ryan Sickler]

And, well, years ago, I had a friend from Chicago and we would watch tv, and the. The while we're watching it be Chicago, Chicago. But then the commercials will come on. And then she would go, Chicago. I was like, God damn all that Chicago. I was like, wow. And already what I knew, I thought was a lot, and there's this like, bam, bam, bam. I'm like, damn, Chicago. But also you've got the. Is this the early part of the YouTube Starting Again TV? You also have a. This newer thing over here.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, I remember very distinctly, like, making this sitcom on campus. And then as a, you know, experiment, I split it up into parts and put it on YouTube. And when we screen it on campus, it's like, oh, my God, wow, 200 people are here watching this show. And then when we put it on YouTube, it's like, like, whoa, 20,000 people watched this clip. Like, it was just this real shock of what these online numbers were like.

[Ryan Sickler]

And people are going to tell me to let you talk, but I got to ask you one more question at this time in Yale, too. Are. Do you. Are you hearing anything about this, this. Are they teaching you or educating you about the YouTube or any podcasting or anything back?

[Ned Fulmer]

Oh, not really, no. No. It was all too geared towards traditional entertainment, maybe.

[Ryan Sickler]

Is it. Is it too, like, low, you know, brow for Yale to have a podcast course?

[Ned Fulmer]

A podcast course? I'm sure they do. They have all sorts of stuff. I remember when I was just back for a reunion, they had a new, like, tech startup area. So that was. That wasn't there in 2000. All right, nine.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right, I'm gonna shut the up now. Okay. So you're. You moved to Chicago.

[Ned Fulmer]

That's right.

[Ryan Sickler]

Do it.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah. All right.

[Ryan Sickler]

And you're doing live shows and. And then when do you sort of, like, stumble or. Or venture into this YouTube lane?

[Ned Fulmer]

Well, I mean, I was doing YouTube in Chicago, but it really kind of picked up when I moved to LA and started working for buzzfeed, which was like a big media company, really growing a lot in that mid 2010s type of time period. I got married in 2012, and then I. In 20, fall of 2012 and also into 2013. I had a succession of, like, two really big health crises that basically made me quit my job. I had to go on disability leave from the.

[Ryan Sickler]

Tell me what happened. So wait real quick. How'd you meet your wife?

[Ned Fulmer]

We met through a mutual friend.

[Ryan Sickler]

Out here in la?

[Ned Fulmer]

No, in Chicago.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, I'm sorry. In Chicago.

[Ned Fulmer]

I met very young, like when I was 22.

[Ryan Sickler]

And did you come together out here to LA? Okay, so then you're just getting settled and trying to get some roots and then health hits.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

What do you find out?

[Ned Fulmer]

We got married in June of 2012, and then that October, I guess I split my knee open so badly it got infected and got a septic knee. And I was working in a chem lab at the time because my degree actually was in science and.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, you. So you wanted it, bro. You went up that motherfucking hill.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, you went up. I went up. That's right. That's what I'm talking now, technically, I have a Bachelor of arts. Science, not a Bachelor of Science.

[Ryan Sickler]

And you know what's weird? I got a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication. Bro.

[Ned Fulmer]

It.

[Ryan Sickler]

At all. I wanted to be a. I thought I wanted to be a physical therapist, so.

[Ned Fulmer]

Oh, that's cool.

[Ryan Sickler]

I started taking human. Human anatomy and physiology. And then as it got deeper, I was like, I. I.

[Ned Fulmer]

It's intense.

[Ryan Sickler]

White flag. I'm lost a lot. I'm gonna kill people. I'm gonna kill people. I was like, let me just go to TV and movies and film. And so I went over there. So my degree is Bachelor of science.

[Ned Fulmer]

That's so funny, because I went heavy. Yeah. I have a BA Because I went heavy in the arts. They're like, you have to take two more advanced science classes to get a B.S. i'm like, hell no. I hate doing that. Okay.

[Ryan Sickler]

I'm sorry.

[Ned Fulmer]

I'm doing screenwriting. No, it was. It. Yeah. I figured that I could always, like, do arts with a science degree, but I couldn't necessarily do science with an arts degree.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay, so you cut your knee, you go sep, your blood goes septic, you said?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yes. So I was in the hospital for three weeks.

[Ryan Sickler]

I had a friend that. That this happens. It's just serious.

[Ned Fulmer]

People don't realize serious.

[Ryan Sickler]

Were you also not up on your tetanus?

[Ned Fulmer]

No, I was.

[Ryan Sickler]

You were?

[Ned Fulmer]

I was.

[Ryan Sickler]

And it still got you.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah. And they said like, 50 years ago, you would have died because the antibiotics, straight up, weren't invented yet.

[Ryan Sickler]

Also, I'm older. Like, when I think 50 years ago, I'm thinking the 40s. And here's the thing.

[Ned Fulmer]

That's like the 70s. Yeah, I know. Yeah, you're like 70s. That's modern medicine, baby.

[Ryan Sickler]

I'm here for that.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, I'm here for that.

[Ryan Sickler]

If I'm here for that. Ain't that old, right? Right. So you're in there.

[Ned Fulmer]

So it's really bad.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Ned Fulmer]

And because I was working at this lab, it had all these blue collar requirements of like, you must be able to lift 60 pounds to come back to work.

[Ryan Sickler]

So did you cut your knee on the job?

[Ned Fulmer]

No, no, it was playing paintball with my friends in rural New Hampshire on like a guy's trip. So I haven't played paintball since then.

[Ryan Sickler]

I don't blame you.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

So we're not on work or.

[Ned Fulmer]

Basically, no, I was on disability, but I wasn't allowed to come back to work. So it's this really, like, strange kind of depressed sort of time where I'm like doing physical therapy on all these painkillers, like off work. And it's just a really kind of depressing and tough time. I had to quit all my shows and all my, you know, basically everything I was doing. And then that was in October. Then in February 2013, I find myself back in the hospital, this time with like an Ms. Episode which I didn't know I had.

[Ryan Sickler]

What? Explain multiple sclerosis. What do you mean an episode? What. What happened?

[Ned Fulmer]

Well, like, for you, for many of the cases in relapsing, remitting ms, it can, like spike up and then go kind of dormant for a while. So this was. I must have had it and didn't know it, but then it spiked up. And the way it spiked up was like, I couldn't, you know, my hands were numb and then my arms were numb, and then my back and my chest were numb. And then my, like, I got weakness in my legs to the point where, like, I couldn't, like, hold my body up. And like, I would, like I fell over and that's when I went to the hospital.

[Ryan Sickler]

So you end up. It's just been in you this whole time, lying dormant. And this is the first time it's introducing itself to you, Right. And you go in and they're like, you have ms?

[Ned Fulmer]

Sort of, yeah. You have to technically have it like two different moments in time to be definitively diagnosed with Ms. But I was diagnosed with the precursor to ms, something else.

[Ryan Sickler]

And so then when's the next time you feel something?

[Ned Fulmer]

Fortunately, I didn't feel anything, but they did like a new. A scan revealed new disease Activity that winter. So that's when I officially had Ms.

[Ryan Sickler]

I see.

[Ned Fulmer]

But.

[Ryan Sickler]

And is that a brain on the brain scan?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, it's your, your. It's an MRI on your brain. It reveals these little spots called lesion matter or something. Yeah, kind of. Yeah. It's like you're, you know, your brain has the axons and the, the dendrites and all of these, you know, neurons, and they're covered.

[Ryan Sickler]

You're talking to the right guy.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah. Physiology, that's for science.

[Ryan Sickler]

Your neurons, synapses, lobes and cortex and.

[Ned Fulmer]

I know. So there's like insulation to these wires called myelin. And that's what Ms. Is, is it kind of eats away the insulation. Kind of like a rat chewing at your. Chewing at your wires there. So it's your own body.

[Ryan Sickler]

What age are you when you are officially diagnosed? The second one?

[Ned Fulmer]

I guess I'm. It was all in 2013, February and then December, so 12 years, I guess I was. 25 years. 25.

[Ryan Sickler]

So you're a very young man.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

To find this out.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

And at this time, can they tell you what, like, varying degree you have and what the progressions show? Like, are they able to help you with your future?

[Ned Fulmer]

A little bit. But part of living with Ms. Is dealing with that fear of like, I know it's going to get worse someday. I know I might be in a wheelchair someday, but I don't know when or how or what, what, how bad it's going.

[Ryan Sickler]

But also you could get hit by a bus tomorrow. No, look at it. Let's be positive, Ned.

[Ned Fulmer]

Okay? That's what helps me, is a bunch of other ways.

[Ryan Sickler]

There are, there are, however, just 50 years ago, a medication or. Excuse me, a. What is it? A for your blood that was created to save your life.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

Hey, you're how old right now?

[Ned Fulmer]

38.

[Ryan Sickler]

I mean, maybe if, when. 30 years. If this rears its ugly head by then they got a shot for this or.

[Ned Fulmer]

I hope so.

[Ryan Sickler]

Put in your skin.

[Ned Fulmer]

I mean, even over the last.

[Ryan Sickler]

Instead of you just walking out in front of buses and. And two years later they make it. Could you imagine two years later, like Ms. Is cured.

[Ned Fulmer]

Dang it. But I really needed to get to the other side of the street.

[Ryan Sickler]

So how does that fuck with you?

[Ned Fulmer]

Well, it was. It was a lot of fear and it was this really sudden shift of being able bodied to being essentially paralyzed. And fortunately they inject me off with a whole bunch of steroids. They like do this thing where they put two tubes in your neck.

[Ryan Sickler]

In your neck?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah. Yeah, they pull the blood out of you, strip plasma and then put it back into you with artificial plasma because the plasma is like where all the antibodies are. So supposedly that's supposed to help you.

[Ryan Sickler]

It did. Does your family then go get tested to see genetically if any one of them has it? And who the hell gave this to you?

[Ned Fulmer]

No, I guess we didn't do that. I don't know that it's like so explicitly gen, you know, it's not like blue eyes or brown eyes or something. It's like, I think your male children are slightly more. But it's not like 50% chance. It's like, you know, okay, yeah, maybe, you know, goes from 1% likely to 2% likely or something like that.

[Ryan Sickler]

Guys, Ridge wallet is back. I've been a fan of Ridge Wallet for a long time. This is my third one. And when I found out they had NFL teams, you know, I jumped on the greatest team in football, the Baltimore Ravens. I used to have my wallet. I was a guy would sit, you know, in my back pocket, my backs going like this, messing me up. All the, all the, you know, receipts, all the cards. Very little cash, but messing me up. Had that fat Costanza wallet.

[Ned Fulmer]

Boom.

[Ryan Sickler]

Now driver's license, three cards in there, that's it. You can put it in your front pocket. Ridge, while it can hold everything. My old wallet had up to 12 cards plus some cash right back there on that unique, slim, modern design that's comfy, sleek and better for my back, personally. Ridge builds their wallets with premium materials like aluminum, titanium and carbon fiber, all while offering 50 plus colors and styles to choose from. All Ridge products have a lifetime warranty, which means this is literally the last wallet you're ever gonna have to buy. And if you still aren't completely sure, then you'll love knowing that no matter what you pick, Ridge has a free shipping and a 99 day risk free trial for a limited time. Our listeners get 10% off at Ridge by using code honeydew at checkout. Just head to ridge.com and use code honeydew and you're all set. After you purchase, they will ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them our show sent you. Now let's get back to the dude. So when are you healthy enough to sort of get back to life and work?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, it took about, I mean, I was in the hospital for another three weeks. So it's kind of like this back to back thing that really just disrupted my, my, my life. So maybe like March and Then at that point, I'm like, quitting. I've quit all the show. Like, I was in a musical or I was in an improv. It's like, I've quit all of my nighttime shows. I'm sort of coming back to work. But then I'm like, why? What am I. What am I doing in this job? So that's kind of when I formulated the decision to, like, move to Los Angeles to just try to be in a larger entertainment market.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay. And at that time, you and your wife come here.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

And do you have kids yet?

[Ned Fulmer]

No.

[Ryan Sickler]

No. When do you start trying to have kids? And are you also terrified that, A, you could, you know, not be able to take care of them, and B, this might be something you give them?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think for many years, the. The way I dealt with it was just to, like, push it way down and just kind of be in denial because once I was able to walk again, I was like. The sensory symptoms that I have ongoing are just kind of like numbness and tingling in my hands. My brain is more or less able to ignore it, which is great and awesome. You know, for five, six years, I was on an injectable, and that was basically the only time I had to think about it was like, once every 48 hours.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yourself?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, yeah. And it's, like, really painful, and I'd sometimes, like, cry and, like, smash my pillow and just be really, like, upset and frustrated. But I didn't, you know, I think I really pushed it down. And so much so I didn't talk about it. I didn't tell anyone about it. I, like, was new in LA and I knew starting a new job at buzzfeed. And like, I didn't want anyone to know. I didn't want to. To like, be people, to sort of just have that be the only thing they knew about me or. I didn't want, like, the. You know, because I was also had this thing where I was, like, off work and then had to come back to work. And it's like, I didn't want the. My bosses to, like, know that I was potentially gonna go back to the hospital and miss months. I just wanted to kind of do my job. So, yeah, it was. It was. It was a real interruption in my life that fortunately, I guess, led me to Los Angeles. But really, you know, I. It took. Has taken me the better part of a decade to become a lot more comfortable with it as a diagnosis and as something that I'm, like, comfortable talking about in conversation.

[Ryan Sickler]

I. I Just know how I am. And I found out I have wild health shit too. I didn't find out I had a disease, genetic blood disease, till I was 42. And, like. So when you feel numbness.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

Do you have a little bit of a. Like, you ever sit on a toilet too long and you get up and your legs don't work? Do you. Are you worried that they're just gonna stay like that, or are you like, no, no. Here they come. Here they come. They're coming back.

[Ned Fulmer]

No, for sure. I mean, if it gets worse, it's like, oh, no. Is this some new baseline that I

[Ryan Sickler]

have to get timing out longer before it. I recover?

[Ned Fulmer]

If it fluctuates right, yeah, it'll fluctuate with temperature or.

[Ryan Sickler]

I was gonna ask, is there a time you notice more that it's.

[Ned Fulmer]

That it shows itself a stress temperature, like alcohol stress. It's. Most people, it's hot, but I find it for cold as well.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay, so now you and. And your. Your wife at the time is also in. Is she also in entertainment as well?

[Ned Fulmer]

No, she's more in, like, the design and.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay.

[Ned Fulmer]

You know, loves, like, vintage stuff and curating, like, decorative accessories. She worked for a. Like a. A vintage reseller as a buyer in la. All right.

[Ryan Sickler]

And so what happens to you guys?

[Ned Fulmer]

I start working for BuzzFeed, and then we suddenly become famous.

[Ryan Sickler]

And why?

[Ned Fulmer]

Well, it's right place, right time, I guess. But, I mean, BuzzFeed was experimenting with doing a bunch of different viral videos, and I was part of that, you know, crew making stuff and trying to test stuff out and have things spread on the Internet.

[Ryan Sickler]

And she was comfortable jumping into that world and doing. Making content and stuff.

[Ned Fulmer]

She became more and more comfortable when she realized that it was, like, a lot more easy of a way to put her stuff out there than, like, client work, which I think was.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay, so she's not dropping this and going to this. She's implementing. I'm bringing my. With me and I'm gonna promote.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, totally. And I. There was at one point, like, I designed a show all around, like, her redesigning rooms and, you know, kind of put that out there as, like, a content so that people could start to see her in that way.

[Ryan Sickler]

And so I know you guys did couple stuff together and you were, you know, working as a married couple in your content. Yeah, they're not. Separately. You would work together.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, it's early on, I made, I think in one of the very first Try Guys videos, I make some reference to, like, oh, I have to Leave the shoot early because I have a date night with my wife. And then it became this catchphrase of, like, my wife, my wife, my wife. And then we'd like, lean into it and, like, make more jokes about it. But then it really became seemingly something that I was known for. And when I looked at what I was posting on social media, the stuff like as a couple or being like, all cutesy, like, would get way more engagement than stuff with just me or just doing whatever. So I just did more of it.

[Ryan Sickler]

So as a content creator, as working in the public eye and stuff, as a married couple together, did you find it difficult to, like, did you ever just go to fucking dinner to go to dinner? Or do you always fucking doing something with the phone or a camera or whatever? And, like, where do you guys try to draw that line so it's not so blurred where you can have something for you guys that isn't for every fucking one else?

[Ned Fulmer]

I don't think we drew that line very well. I mean, I think we had pretty blurry boundaries. Eventually we started to, like, taper off the types of stuff we would feature our kids in as they started becoming like, less of a baby and more of a toddler. But, you know, in general, like, I. I always felt this, like, pressure to post and to show, you know, the more, like, rosy side of my relationship and family. And it, you know, over time, it became just really exhausting and kind of made it, I wonder, further and further away from like, the truth of what was happening in my life and in my relationship. And I think that, like, disconnect really was something that was hard for me

[Ryan Sickler]

to deal with and what was really

[Ned Fulmer]

happening, I mean, it was not as perfect as show it on Instagram. I don't think anyone's relationship, that's what this.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's why this whole show is about, like, I got sick of everyone's.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

You know, I say their ESPN top 10 play. I'm so tired of your. Your highlights.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

And we all have the worst times in our life, you know,

[Ned Fulmer]

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[Ryan Sickler]

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[Ned Fulmer]

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[Ryan Sickler]

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[Ned Fulmer]

Now $199. It's springtime and our best lineup is

[Ryan Sickler]

here at Lowe's, valid through 413 while

[Ned Fulmer]

supplies last selection varies by location.

[Ryan Sickler]

So yeah, that's interesting too, because then you're, you're living in front of a camera now, you have children, and then you got to start drawing lines. And this is also like, I don't envy you guys either. This is a new, you know, territory and it's a new frontier with all this. And how do you do that's maybe 100 years from now, people be like, oh, this is the best way to do this with your kids on social media. I think people are still trying. I've had Chris Hansen sit right there in that seat and tell me about Roblox and Wild that. That these predators are doing with our kids just by seeing them online. And I wanted to ask you, do you ever have any weirdos or stuff? Because once you put your life out there, people can figure out where the you are these days, where you live, where the kids go to school. Did you ever, ever have any issues with that?

[Ned Fulmer]

Somebody came to the old try guys office one time to like drop off a gift because they like found the location, which was my old rental house.

[Ryan Sickler]

Was it a real gift or was it like a.

[Ned Fulmer]

No, it was a weird gift. I mean it was a real gift

[Ryan Sickler]

hand or anything like that.

[Ned Fulmer]

Probably like a long letter or maybe something handmade art. And you know, that's. That's sweet. And it indicates like that our work had reached people, which is always the goal as an artist to like make stuff that affects people. But you know, a little, it does make you feel a sense of lack of safety when someone shows up to this. You know, the office never had anything with the kids, fortunately.

[Ryan Sickler]

Good. That's.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

So are you comfortable? I said to you out there before we recorded, you were, I guess, caught cheating in a public way. Is that accurate? Is that right? Are you comfortable telling us what happened and how that went down?

[Ned Fulmer]

Sure. It's a pretty well known story. So I. There's nothing to hide, really.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay, fair enough. As I said, I ask everyone if it's true or not now because I'm sure there's. I'm sure everything that's online about this isn't also 100%.

[Ned Fulmer]

Well, that's true. Yeah, for sure.

[Ryan Sickler]

So I'd like to hear it from you.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, I was having an affair with my producer who was employee of the production company that I owned and operated. We got caught together on a, you know, making out on a dance floor after a Harry Styles concert.

[Ryan Sickler]

Where?

[Ned Fulmer]

On a business trip in New York.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, in New York. Not out?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, sort of.

[Ryan Sickler]

And got by who?

[Ned Fulmer]

Like fans who recognized Me or her?

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, so you were spotted. You weren't the rando up there.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

You know, and so how does that get who. Okay, who finds out first thing? Because this, this is interesting that you don't know. Does your wife find out first or do you find out first that this is out there?

[Ned Fulmer]

It's sort of. Well, it wasn't out there to start it. It really, I think pretty much all the important people in our life found out simultaneously by this person sending it to, you know, my ex wife, her ex fiance, that they sent it directly. People that we worked with in our office. Yeah, I think they just kind of sent it everywhere. So I, you know, that was,

[Ryan Sickler]

for

[Ned Fulmer]

me, that was immediately the moment where I'm having to tell my ex wife everything that had been happening. And what was, you know, the extent of, you know, what this photo meant and what it was?

[Ryan Sickler]

It was a photo, not a little video clip or anything.

[Ned Fulmer]

Oh, yeah, it was actually. It was like a screen grab from a video.

[Ryan Sickler]

So I have questions for you, Ned.

[Ned Fulmer]

Sure.

[Ryan Sickler]

How old are the kids at the time?

[Ned Fulmer]

One and four, I guess. Okay, what's this? We fall 2022. Yeah. So two and five. Two and five.

[Ryan Sickler]

And when and how do you find out this photo's out there like the next day is it that same night,

[Ned Fulmer]

you know, the first thing was Ariel, my ex wife, forward me an email of somebody like sending like a, you know, a DM through an email just like describing how they saw us and that night.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, pretty quickly.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah. So that's kind of something that I knew that it was like we're gonna have to have a, like conversation about it. And at that point I've been going on for a while, so in a lot of ways I was kind of relieved to be able to talk about it, which is a fucked up thing to say, but was, was the truth. It's like, you know, I sometimes think subconsciously I must have wanted to get caught because then you are forced to stop living a double life and start to come to terms with why you're doing it and what it means for your life.

[Ryan Sickler]

And at the time you're in New York. So, you know, you still got to go all the way back to California to have this conversation. It's not like you're driving home and we're talking tonight.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, well, how long you have an awkward thing that. Actually she was coming to meet me and we were going to go to a wedding in New Jersey for some family friends. So I tell her all this is on the phone No, I. I wanted to talk about it in person, which maybe was a mistake because she, you know, really was very, very upset and wanted to immediately get on a plane and go back to Los Angeles while I went to this family wedding.

[Ryan Sickler]

So she did come to New York, and she already knew then. And you're like, please come so we can talk.

[Ned Fulmer]

No, no, I.

[Ryan Sickler]

You waited till she got there.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

And then you told her.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, because I. I was under a delusion that it wasn't as big of a deal as it was. There were some.

[Ryan Sickler]

Why? What made you think that?

[Ned Fulmer]

Well, there were ways that we had talked about certain, like, boundaries and things that would be okay versus not, and, you know, this was not. But it was close. And I was, you know, delusionally thinking, like, oh, well, since we've talked about these other things, that this is probably fine. And I think there's. There's a lot of different ways that when you're cheating, or when I was cheating specifically, that I lied to myself to. To make it seem more okay in my mind.

[Ryan Sickler]

Now I'm gonna ask you questions, and if you're like, nah, I don't want to answer that, or you don't want us to put it in, that's fine too. But the lady you're cheating with.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

Is she married or does she have family or is there anyone in her life?

[Ned Fulmer]

She. She was engaged.

[Ryan Sickler]

She was engaged?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah. And part of what was so destructive as her fiance actually caught us, like, early on, and then we stopped for a while, and then.

[Ryan Sickler]

And he didn't tell your wife?

[Ned Fulmer]

No, no.

[Ryan Sickler]

How early on?

[Ned Fulmer]

Pretty much right at the beginning.

[Ryan Sickler]

When you say caught you, how did he catch you?

[Ned Fulmer]

Like, saw some stuff on her phone.

[Ryan Sickler]

And did he call you or confront you?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yep.

[Ryan Sickler]

What did he say?

[Ned Fulmer]

I don't think.

[Ryan Sickler]

Did he see. Was it to your face or did he call?

[Ned Fulmer]

He called me.

[Ryan Sickler]

And did he already know you? Were you friendly?

[Ned Fulmer]

Sort of.

[Ryan Sickler]

I mean, friend with your wife? You guys, we.

[Ned Fulmer]

She. We had even worked together back at BuzzFeed, so we'd known each other for the better part of, you know, eight years or so. I don't. I don't really remember, but he was. He was very upset, and so it

[Ryan Sickler]

was like, oh, and you stopped for a bit, but you didn't stop? Yeah.

[Ned Fulmer]

Eventually we started, you know, seeing each other again.

[Ryan Sickler]

And how would you. How. How would you get away with it?

[Ned Fulmer]

We went on a lot of business trips.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay. You're not sneaking here. There. You're going on business trips.

[Ned Fulmer]

The producer. That is, like, Setting everything up and

[Ryan Sickler]

I don't know, guys, Ridge Wallet is back. I've been a fan of Ridge Wallet for a long time. This is my third one. And when I found out they had NFL teams, you know, I jumped on the greatest team in football, the Baltimore Ravens. I used to have my wallet. I was a guy that would sit, you know, in my back pocket. My back's going like this, messing me up. All the, all the, you know, receipts, all the cards. Very little cash, but messing me up. Had that fat Costanza wallet.

[Ned Fulmer]

Boom.

[Ryan Sickler]

Now driver's license, three cards in there, that's it. You can put it in your front pocket. Ridge Wallet can hold everything. My old wallet had up to 12 cards plus some cash right back there on that unique, slim, modern design that's comfy, sleek and better for my back personally. Ridge builds their wallets with premium materials like aluminum, titanium and carbon fiber, all while offering 50 plus colors and styles to choose from. All Ridge products have a lifetime warranty, which means this is literally the last wallet you're ever going to have to buy. And if you still aren't completely sure, then you'll love knowing that no matter what you pick, Ridge has a free shipping and a 99 day risk free trial for a limited time. Our listeners get 10 off at Ridge by using code honeydew at checkout. Just head to ridge.com and use code Honeydew and you're all set. After you purchase, they will ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them our show sent you. Now let's get back to the. Dude, how long? Months.

[Ned Fulmer]

A year?

[Ryan Sickler]

How long we talking?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, Months.

[Ryan Sickler]

Months.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

So when you tell your wife.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

I mean, what is that like? That's got to be the worst thing ever.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

With her too.

[Ned Fulmer]

No, she's.

[Ryan Sickler]

They're home in LA being watched now.

[Ned Fulmer]

She says like, oh, I saw this like, like were you like this person sent me this message. Were you like in New York with your sister or something? Like. And I was like, no, I was with this person. Like, oh, oh. And you know, then said like how long had been going on for and what the extent of it was. And you know, that was really when it was. I think she, you know, was like turned this car around and you were

[Ryan Sickler]

in the car, dude, were you going to the wedding?

[Ned Fulmer]

Driving to the hotel to kind of get ready for.

[Ryan Sickler]

And you just took her to the airport?

[Ned Fulmer]

I just. Yeah, I turned the car around, took her to the, to an airport hotel, man. Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

I gotta say, I've really feel terrible for your wife right now. I don't mean to make you pile on, but I mean also, like, I gotta get on a flight now, fly back to six hours to la. Thinking about this, like, and what's gonna happen to my life and my kids and do I stay? Do I go? Is that the only thing? He's lying. I mean, you know, you go to the wedding.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yes.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay, that's. I mean, listen, you should, you shouldn't just bail on this wedding. I don't. I don't know, actually. I don't really know.

[Ned Fulmer]

I mean, I didn't go to most of it, but I went to the actual ceremony.

[Ryan Sickler]

Were you in it? Like, were you.

[Ned Fulmer]

No, it was like a family friend.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah. So then you go back to la, obviously, you go back home.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

Is she there? Are you kicked out of the house, like, you know?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, I lived in a. In a hotel for a couple days.

[Ryan Sickler]

And, and what's going on with your. The lady's situation? And is he coming after you again? Because he already said, hey, man.

[Ned Fulmer]

I definitely did that weekend he tried

[Ryan Sickler]

to show up where you were.

[Ned Fulmer]

Well, he threatened me and called me and stuff. But he basically, I tell my ex wife that I want to work through things and cut off contact with the affair partner.

[Ryan Sickler]

And how would you do that if you're employed together? So are you quitting a job? Is she quitting a job or how's that work?

[Ned Fulmer]

I didn't. I don't.

[Ryan Sickler]

You didn't. That did. You're like, whatever, if I have to

[Ned Fulmer]

work from home for the next year, I don't know, it doesn't.

[Ryan Sickler]

And can you tell me about your ex? Is she. Well, let me ask it like this. Is she a Latina or is she just processing, you know what I'm saying? Are you having anything thrown at you?

[Ned Fulmer]

Are you in danger of being stabbed?

[Ryan Sickler]

You know what I'm saying? Or is she like, when she said, turn this car around right now, did she say it like that or were we in a different octave? You know what I'm saying?

[Ned Fulmer]

Like, no, she's not a Latina, but it was very. It was devastating for her and.

[Ryan Sickler]

But it's really emotional that, you know, is she. I don't want to make her now try to look like it, but I'm saying her reaction, whatever is justified. Is she yelling or is she like a quiet, like just leaving and not talking? You know what?

[Ned Fulmer]

I'm yelling, crying. The, the thing for me that was like, oh, this is. You are totally, like, this is in no Way. Okay. This is really hurting this person that you care a lot about.

[Ryan Sickler]

And obviously you're married and you have children, so you fought in things before, naturally, normally, but this is something you're seeing a whole new, like. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So you. You want to try to work it out the. She at first, because you did say she doesn't.

[Ned Fulmer]

She doesn't.

[Ryan Sickler]

She does.

[Ned Fulmer]

She doesn't know for a while. You know, I think it took us the better part of two years to really decide whether we were gonna continue working on it or not.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right, let's talk about that. Two years. Yeah. How do you co parent together? And what are you doing? Are you back in the house? Are you, like. What do you. What's the. You know, what's the setup?

[Ned Fulmer]

So I. I live out of the back house for some time. Like, we have a little adu, so it's kind of, you know, mommy and daddy in separate bedrooms.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right. But you're on the property, and if there's an emergency or something, they're right there.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

You're allowed to go and put them to bed or anything.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, we're doing it a lot together as we're doing therapy, and we're just.

[Ryan Sickler]

You just stay the. Out there when it's time. Time. Yeah.

[Ned Fulmer]

At the. In the evening. Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah. Okay.

[Ned Fulmer]

You know, and then there's about a month goes by, but then it starts. It goes from, like, a private thing that we're working through to a very public thing where I, you know, very publicly get fired from my job. And that kind of creates this.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, it was storm of this whole time we're talking about right now wasn't public and wasn't.

[Ned Fulmer]

No, no.

[Ryan Sickler]

I thought immediately it did.

[Ned Fulmer]

I'm sorry. Most people do, but. But yeah, it was about a month.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay.

[Ned Fulmer]

Or so.

[Ryan Sickler]

And how does. Okay but. Because you get fired, that's what propels the story into.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, I started, like, getting cut out of content, and people are like, hey, that's weird. And then, you know, it kind of all. All blows up. And that's a whole new level of. Now me and her weren't sure if I was getting fired or not or what was happening. And then it was kind of really a surprise for. For both of us, which was tough to deal with.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay, so now this is out there everywhere, which has got to make your wife also feel like, great. Yeah, now the world knows about this.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

So is that a whole new level of.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, it was. You know, and now there's trolls, like, saying, like, Oh, I slept with him too. And she's like, well, now I don't know what's true or not. So with the, you know, advice of our therapists, we go. And, like, I wanted to ask.

[Ryan Sickler]

You guys were in therapy at the time too?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay, good.

[Ned Fulmer]

Couples therapy and individual therapy. So I actually go to, like, a. To live at, like, a. Like a facility, like a. You know, it's sort of like a rehab type of place to just be like. What's this call? A therapeutic separation? To have some time of. Not.

[Ryan Sickler]

Not because they're telling you you're a sex addict or any of this stuff and you need to be over here, but this is a safe place to go get your together.

[Ned Fulmer]

Right.

[Ryan Sickler]

For a bit.

[Ned Fulmer]

Right, Right.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay.

[Ned Fulmer]

And although being around, like, addiction and people who are working through, like, eating disorders or alcoholism, gambling. Yeah. All sorts of stuff. Or just, you know, people that are super depressed or, like, suicide, like, it was all really interesting and powerful and, like, healing for me to be able to so openly talk about how I. I fucked my whole life up. K Pop Demon Hunters, Haja Boy's Breakfast Meal and Hunt Trick's Meal have just dropped at McDonald's. They're calling this a battle for the fans.

[Ryan Sickler]

What do you say to that, Rumi?

[Ned Fulmer]

It's not a battle.

[Ryan Sickler]

So glad the Saja boys could take

[Ned Fulmer]

breakfast and give our meal the rest of the day. It is an honor to share. No, it's our honor. It is our larger honor.

[Ryan Sickler]

No, really, stop.

[Ned Fulmer]

You can really feel the respect in this battle. Pick a meal to pick a side

[Ryan Sickler]

and participate in McDonald's while supplies last.

[Ned Fulmer]

And it was, you know, the kind of being able to view even just like, having an affair through the lens of, like, addictive cycles and stuff was really helpful for me to understand, like, why it was so hard to, you know, not see this person and things like that. So it was a really, really helpful and really healing time. And. And there was such a storm on the Internet that, like, I just needed to completely, like, unplug from everything. So to actually be in a place where my phone is literally, like, in a lockbox, I see not able to

[Ryan Sickler]

be in, like, I forget about, like, just how accessible every thing is in the world these days from the palm of our hand sometimes, you know, and even by habit, I'm looking at the weather. I'm still looking at something, you know. Yeah, man. Okay, so now it's public. You lose your job. We do our. Our stay. Where are you headed next when you get out? So after and I'm sorry, and how is. Do you have in laws out here? How. Who's helping with the kids and stuff?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, in laws and friends were all pretty helpful during that time period.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right, so you had a good support system for the children. That's always important. Okay.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah. And it was. We were getting this kind of therapeutic, like, process of, you know, the couple's therapists, each of our individual therapists, and part of that is to basically write out all the things that I did and all of the, like, secrets I had been keeping and then to kind of communicate that in one sitting. So then she knows exactly what's, like, true and what's not. And that's kind of like a baseline that you can rebuild your sense of, like, sense of trust off of. Because we knew, or at least I think both of us, even if we weren't sure we wanted to be romantically together, knew that we wanted to be, like, have a friendship and a co parenting relationship. So that was really helpful. It was about three months of time.

[Ryan Sickler]

So that's. I mean, I'm gonna be honest with you. That's pretty quick for a lady who was. I'm talking about your ex. Caught off guard by all of this. Like, that's impressive that she could, you know, Latina. We're looking six, eight months, man. Might be forever. It might be a grudge.

[Ned Fulmer]

I'm just kidding. I mean, the group therapy at that place that I went to, I continued to do for, like, six, nine months.

[Ryan Sickler]

So what are the personal consequences? And, you know, God, I mean, I haven't thought of this either. Like, your children are young, but someday they're gonna read that, they're gonna see that. I hadn't thought of that either. Like, what is. It's a new world for this kind of thing too. How do you deal with that?

[Ned Fulmer]

It's devastating. I mean, it's. It's. Everything I knew about my life kind of collapsed in the span of a weekend or a month. That's wild. So, like, you know, no, I think I didn't. It wasn't like I had anywhere to be to go do the, like, eight hours of therapy every day.

[Ryan Sickler]

Why do you think you cheated?

[Ned Fulmer]

I think I cheated because I was selfish and I was unhappy, and I didn't have the tools to understand that unhappiness and that emptiness. And it was easier to, you know, kind of fill that void with something external. And then once it started happening, it kind of becomes like a runaway train where it's like, you know, your. Your body chemistry and all of those things that make people, like, fall in love with each other and like, all that kind of gets hijacked to there where it just feels like, you know, you're living or dying based off of.

[Ryan Sickler]

Anyways, were you in love with this other lady you just mentioned? Love. Were you in love with that lady?

[Ned Fulmer]

I. I thought I was at the time for sure. And now looking back on it, I think to myself, like, how can you really love someone if you're in this kind of. It's, you know, a relationship built on secrecy and sneaking around and not anything that's like kind of you're loud and

[Ryan Sickler]

proud about or look at my wonderful partner.

[Ned Fulmer]

She's so amazing. You know, you don't have that. That grounding of what I think a true loving relationship needs to be built on. Certainly don't have that sense of honesty as you like. I, I felt a sense of aliveness and a sense of like my, like was feeling good about my life for the first time in a while, but it doesn't. That's like kind of a temporary, like now afterwards and like rebuilding those pieces of my life. I've kind of had to just build that from the inside out without any kind of external connection to. To do that. But yeah, I mean, I think I. That my whole life I did everything that was expected of me and had all this achievement and success and then you look back one day and you feel super empty about everything and you're like, what. What else is there in life? That's what happened to me.

[Ryan Sickler]

At least without maybe naming anyone. Anyone turn on you that surprised you and vice versa. Anyone really come through where you were like, like, for example, maybe her dad was like, hey, look, you're the father of these kids and blah, blah. I don't know. I'm making that up. But I'm asking, is there anyone both ways? Anyone really like, man, I really thought I could, you know, lean on this person even if I up and. No. And the other way around.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, I mean, for sure that my. My friend group and a lot of our friends, like, as couples were really supportive of just, hey, like, we understand you're working through a lot and that there's, you know, that Ned that you up and also, like, we love both of you and hope you do and kind of figure it out in the way that's best for you. And I think her parents, like, shared that sentiment of, you know, we're going to take our lead from our daughter

[Ryan Sickler]

and are they together because your parents were together? Are they Together?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, both are.

[Ryan Sickler]

What's it like you're a dad. What's it like the first time you see her dad after all this?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah. Do you remember that? Not easy. Yeah, not easy. I apologized and is that why you

[Ryan Sickler]

went over to see him? Are you seeing him at, like, something else? You're like, can I please?

[Ned Fulmer]

All on a family trip to Big Bear together. Oh.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, God. Dude. In the same car and.

[Ned Fulmer]

No, but in the same house.

[Ryan Sickler]

And that's where you talked about it?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, once there was a moment where they were alone, I went to talk and apologize.

[Ryan Sickler]

Was her mom and dad together? You did this?

[Ned Fulmer]

It was, yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

And how did that go?

[Ned Fulmer]

I think they accepted my apology and. And took their cues from their daughter. So I think, you know, they were hurt, but also supportive of the kind of work that we were doing together to build a new sense of family life.

[Ryan Sickler]

How long ago is this now?

[Ned Fulmer]

Three, three and a half years. Yeah, three years.

[Ryan Sickler]

And you don't have to answer this at all, but I'm curious. Has your wife started dating and how's that been meeting that person?

[Ned Fulmer]

If you have, you know, I think that's her. Her story to tell. Fair enough.

[Ryan Sickler]

But have you started dating again?

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, I've started dating.

[Ryan Sickler]

You have. What would you say is the biggest lesson you learned from this?

[Ned Fulmer]

I mean, honesty and authenticity. That it's, like, much more important to be truthful about, like, painful things than it is to try to, you know, hide something so that someone feels better. Like, you know, this. This all would have been. It still would have been painful. But if. If I had had the courage or the kind of awareness to be able to say, like, hey, this. This XYZ isn't going well for me. And I'm feeling this, and I want to do this, but I think it's hard to be knowing that at the time. And sometimes you just have these negative feelings and don't really know what they mean. And this was how I dealt with them. And it was horribly painful and destructive for so many people. I mean, it's not just my ex wife, but all of the people involved with, you know, people at my office that I used to work at and

[Ryan Sickler]

I forget even, like, whole work thing too. Yeah, there's all those, you know, it's.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, it's kind of like a small family. Right? Like, and. And then there were everyone out, like the public that had been following our story and our relationship. You know, then people, they felt a sense of betrayal as well. I'm sure. And there's a lot of pain all around. And I had to come to terms with the fact that I had caused it. And it was because I was selfish and like keeping secrets.

[Ryan Sickler]

Talk to me about the relief. I know you said even though it's fucked up like the. You finally, the, you know, it's over.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

The secret's out. You can let this go because. Do you think you would have ever told.

[Ned Fulmer]

I was. Oh, I think for sure. Because I was like there are so many moments where I almost tell her or try to like tell her. Just so many. Like just skirt around it but tell like almost. Yeah. I mean, I was losing my mind, I think.

[Ryan Sickler]

I mean, you got two young kids, a wife, this job. I know this business is fast paced. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Production. You're at a new company that's just taken off. Yeah, I'll bet you're losing your. So there's a small part of you that's just like, okay, yeah, it's over.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah. And I remember before it happened, we like released this very adorable cookbook together called the Date Night Cookbook. And we're on a press tour promoting it and we're like doing all these really cute things during the day and like you're taking selfies with fans. I appreciate that. You made that chicken parm.

[Ryan Sickler]

I love it, bro.

[Ned Fulmer]

Anyways, yeah, I mean, it was just this, the. The biggest disconnect of like, forget about all you're cute and couply during the day. All this.

[Ryan Sickler]

You're built. You built.

[Ned Fulmer]

And then at night too.

[Ryan Sickler]

That too. I think about that. Like. Yeah, yeah, that's right. You, you, you took it off and then you built that together. Okay, so let's talk about that. So obviously these things fall apart and stuff, but do you two even consider working together again in any capacity?

[Ned Fulmer]

Sure. There's like some projects, even some projects we're still doing where it's like maybe it's. She's more on camera and I'm more behind the scenes or stuff like that. But I think we were both like knew that that kind of on camera being cute together was both not possible anymore and not something we wanted to do. I mean, that disconnect between being cute during the day and then feeling like isolated and alone at night, it just, it's like really challenging to deal with. And as hard as it was to have it all be out in the open, at least then there wasn't anything that I was like hiding anymore. And I can just kind of exist as myself and just to just try to build up myself as Best as I can.

[Ryan Sickler]

It's all so interesting in a horrible way to get caught like this. Like, what a world we live in these days, too, where, you know, obviously there's. When the Coldplay thing hits.

[Ned Fulmer]

Are you.

[Ryan Sickler]

Are you also. The Internet's a Forever a dick, I always say. Are you just. Are you going to be trolled forever? Like, when this comes out? There's no doubt. According, I'm guessing for you, there's going to be some people in there dropping about that.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah. I'm gonna get.

[Ryan Sickler]

Do you still anything. Anything you do now. Do you still. Even if it's a hundred comments or there's still three or four in there, that's some. About that.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah. Yes.

[Ryan Sickler]

It'll. Forever, huh? It'll follow you.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's a new thing in the world, too. You don't get the. You can't even like. Like, start over somewhere else because that digital footprint follows you. I never even thought of that.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

You know, some doctor, apparently, L.A. loses his license. He's moving out to Washington state and starting over as a dentist. You can't do that anymore. Like, you know, that guy used to be. You can't do it anymore.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, no, you have to just be like, this is who I am now, and hopefully it connects with people. And if not, it is what it is.

[Ryan Sickler]

I'm going to continue to ask you a few questions here, Ned. Through this process, do you learn that maybe you're not suited for the married life? Do you maybe prefer multiple partners and you know what I mean, like. Or are you scared to hurt someone so you just casually date? Like, where are you in the realization of who you are as a preference moving forward? Would you ever be married again? Things like that.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, I definitely have noticed in my dating life that I'm much more like, I'll. I'll say what's happening, even to my detriment. I think, like, someone broke up with me because I was like, just, you know, just so we're clear, like, I know you're dating other people and I'm dating other people. She's like, yeah, I know that, but why do we have to say that? I'm like, well, because very important to me.

[Ryan Sickler]

Dick starts burning. I want to know who the fuck on your. Your side gave that shit to me. Unless it's my side.

[Ned Fulmer]

So I think I'm a lot more upfront and whether, you know, if some of the people I've dated are E M or in. In more that, like, poly type of circle. And that's like Being. Being a lot more upfront and transparent about what it is, where you're at and where they're at. I think it's been really healthy and helpful for me. I'm still not sure if that's like, for me, I mean that's, that's, you know, it's. There's only so many, like, I'm a pretty involved dad and that leaves like not that much time to, to date or whatever. So like some people are like, oh, I have four partners. I'm like, how, how do you do that?

[Ryan Sickler]

Well, you're a young man. Would you consider marriage again?

[Ned Fulmer]

I would.

[Ryan Sickler]

You would?

[Ned Fulmer]

I would.

[Ryan Sickler]

Kids, More kids or are you done with kids?

[Ned Fulmer]

I mean, I'm not out here searching for kids, but I'm.

[Ryan Sickler]

The door's not closed on the right person. I'd be open to them, yeah.

[Ned Fulmer]

All right.

[Ryan Sickler]

And these days now you and your wife, I call it my daughter's mom and I, we professional. We're very professional. We do, you know, we work very well together and stuff like that. Are you guys on good enough terms to do that now?

[Ned Fulmer]

I think, I think we're a great team and I'm really grateful for all of that. That work that we did together and that work that I did in that like crisis time, kind of going to the, you know, the therapy facility and just kind of really working through it because yeah, now we're able to like go on trips together. Like we spent all of August in Greece together having this wonderful experience for the kids where we're just, you know, living in a three bedroom apartment with two separate bedrooms and the kids go to school in Greece and we're kind of each taking little trips here and there, but mostly able to, I don't know, provide a new sense of family, even though it's different from the others. I guess we've realized that maybe we're better as friends and co parents than romantic partners.

[Ryan Sickler]

Tell me about you do something with aew?

[Ned Fulmer]

I did.

[Ryan Sickler]

You wrestled?

[Ned Fulmer]

I did, I wrestled.

[Ryan Sickler]

You like really?

[Ned Fulmer]

In a real match? Yeah, actually. For real? Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

Against who? Was a tag team.

[Ned Fulmer]

They coddled me quite good. Yes. It was a three person even.

[Ryan Sickler]

They're coddling. I'm still watching these guys get up, right?

[Ned Fulmer]

No, I felt like I had. It was in a car accident. Like my back was up for about

[Ryan Sickler]

you, like what happened to your body?

[Ned Fulmer]

My whole training was like getting. Yeah, I was like. It was like my whole back was stiff. It was two days for, for like my entire back. But yeah, there's one Muscle in my back. That was like months. It's still probably not quite right. Anyways. Yeah, the whole practicing is like getting slammed over and over again. Your whole brain is telling you to not watch yourself. I just. I knew it was going to be a good.

[Ryan Sickler]

Did it come your way or is this something you sought out?

[Ned Fulmer]

I saw it. It's something that I sought out. I sent them a. That's awesome. Formed in my hometown of Jacksonville.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, is that right?

[Ned Fulmer]

I figured they might be a little, as the upstart, a little more approachable than wwe, and I knew that was, you know, for the new season of Stuff, I was doing, like, the kind of unscripted challenge style content that I love to make. I wanted to do, like, big spectacle, high intensity stuff. So I did something in a fighter jet, like, stunt plane.

[Ryan Sickler]

Listen, no offense, that's cool, but you're just sitting there in a plane. I know they're Jeep, whatever. That ain't the same as a boot to the. Well, that's so. But do you have a wrestling background at all? Did you high school wrestle anything?

[Ned Fulmer]

Maybe for one day? Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

In high school, you just went in there and they. So what did you get?

[Ned Fulmer]

What I learned was it was about wrestling. Yes. But they're basically all just. Just theater geeks with muscles.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Ned Fulmer]

Like, they just love a show, and I love a show.

[Ryan Sickler]

They love the dress, you know, robes, the boas, all of it. The glasses, the hair. Yeah, it's been fantastic.

[Ned Fulmer]

I also knew that I was a villain now.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah. Even if you didn't want to be, you are now.

[Ned Fulmer]

Maybe it would be fun to wear a sparkly outfit and be a villain.

[Ryan Sickler]

And when you get in, do people recognize you and booing you?

[Ned Fulmer]

And so here's the thing. Because I was from Jacksonville, they cast me as the hometown hero, actually. So I prepped all of these villain lines, and then at the 30 minutes before, they're like, nope, you're gonna be on the good guys team. I was like, oh, no. But in Jacksonville, all you got to do is say du and everyone, you know, loves. I think a few people recognize me and we're booing me. Mostly it was the other guys. Like, the. The heels were very good at getting booze, so made our job easy.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right, well, dude, thank you for doing this. I. I'm sure it's not easy to sit there and be that vulnerable and again, tell the world everything about what happened in your life, but I appreciate it.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah. Thanks for spending some time with me.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah. But I. My question. Last question. Is advice. After everything we've talked about, what are you telling 16 year old Nev Fulmer?

[Ned Fulmer]

You know, I, I think I would tell 16 year old me to really try to stay true to yourself and to not always try to people please or to kind of do things to get other people's approval. I think that's always something that's been really hard for me and something that I'm learning now as I'm getting older and practicing boundaries and getting better at it. But that's like, that's. I think what I would tell my younger self is to kind of stay true to yourself and don't be afraid to say hard things, even if they're going to be uncomfortable to say or hear.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right, that's great. One more time right there. Promote anything you'd like, please.

[Ned Fulmer]

Sure. Check out the Rock Bottom podcast. It's stories of people's lowest moments, how they overcame them.

[Ryan Sickler]

Can I ask you, has your wife done it yet? Okay. Yes.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yes.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay, great.

[Ned Fulmer]

Which was, well, I don't know. People didn't seem to like it.

[Ryan Sickler]

You guys, that's really.

[Ned Fulmer]

This is funny. Like, she's not so tapped into online. She's like, oh, how's the podcast doing? I'm like, eiro, it's not going well. Where have you been? Like, I'm getting destroyed out there. You look great. But no, I mean, we had this idea to kind of tell her story through the Rock Bottom show, but I think it was, I think we like just skipped ahead. It was both reactivating that really painful moment for people in a way where people are like, oh, maybe you should keep this private. And like skipping all of the steps of how dealt with it and like how we're able to sit in the room and chat and laugh and be friendly.

[Ryan Sickler]

Well, look, no offense when I say I do think more of us should keep our private, myself included. However, kudos to your wife and you also because you started on a camera and sort of did that thing. So even though it was a fucked up thing and it hurt you guys and a lot of people, the fact that you two could sit down together and do that I think is pretty impressive. Yeah, a lot of people would have dodged that and said, now off, I'm not doing that, or whatever, that's gotta be uncomfortable to sit and do so.

[Ned Fulmer]

Good. Yeah, it's kind of. We figured the only way out of it was through it. And then we were always going to get questions and just to have this uncomfortable hour, two hours where we just talk about it all who knows? Who knows how people are allowed to respond however they want?

[Ryan Sickler]

There's no right answer.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

You know what I mean. Thank you for doing this, dude.

[Ned Fulmer]

Yeah, thanks for having me.

[Ryan Sickler]

As always, Ryan Sickler, on all your social media. We'll talk to you all next week.