THE TRY GUYS NED SCANDAL… THERE’S LAYERS TO THIS | KennieJD 

26:53 I misspoke here. I meant “any future videos”. They wouldn’t be able to show him in future videos

Ariel isn't only a cast member, but also the interior designer for their office and was even featured in Architectural Digest for both her home and the try guys office renovations. She supported ned when they left buzzfeed even though they were expecting their first child and losing the insurance from the company and ned still had the audacity to cheat on her

Him cheating is still insane cause how can you make your entire personality about how much you love your wife and then you do this shit 😭 lmfaoooo men are so scary

“If a man writes a woman a sonnet, it means he loves her. If he writes her 300 sonnets, then he loves sonnets.” If a guy says he loves you, then he loves you. If he makes it his public brand that he loves you, then he loves being known as a good guy.

Ned: “Consensual workplace relationship” You mean “affair”? 💀

"Cheating is the act of someone who hates you" is a statement so raw it floored me.

"lets get on to the debauchery" has never meant more LMAO

Also for Eugene his mother was cheated on so you know how much this must absolutely make him LIVID

I saw someone say that Ned doesn’t love his wife, he loves having a wife. Because if you love someone you address them by their name. Like Keith talks about his wife a lot to, but he uses her name. Ned just likes that he can have a wife… it’s just sad to see because Ariel seems so nice

The fact that he flamboyantly cheated at a concert where everyone has their phones out filming anyway is just woooow the gall of it all

Again, Ariel designed the Try Guys freaking office. Chose the colors. Arranged the furniture.

I think one of the biggest things that bothers me about Ned's "apology" is that he says he's sorry to the Try Guys and the fans before he even says sorry to Ariel, not even mentioning their children

"Cheating is an act of hate" AMEN to that! I am so tired of people making stupid excuses about how cheating is not that bad. The very root of cheating is betraying someones trust. If you care about someone even on the most basic level you wouldn't do something you know would crush them. It's an awful thing to put anyone through, especially when you have kids with that person so they will also end up getting hurt from the fall out.

Let's not also forget that Zach took the mantle of handling a lot of the legal side of all this while being disabled. He talked on the podcast how much his stress worsened his chronic pain. As someone who also is disabled with chronic pain, I applaud him because that is A LOT to handle.

There’s a video of Ariel talking about her frustration at Ned not picking up a fair share of chores, specifically the laundry. To me this says so much about a guy who goes on about how much he ‘loves his wife’ and what a ‘good husband’ he is. Really he’s just oblivious to what it takes to be a good, respectful partner.

Ariel should start her own interior design channel. Doing people's houses, DIY and renovating spaces!

The nerve of saying ‘I lost sight of my family’ when it’s literally your whole brand. I would’ve burnt it all to the ground if I were Ariel

This whole thing is fucking nuts. Alex’s fiancé isn’t getting as much notice but hopefully that means he can process the end of a TEN YEAR RELATIONSHIP in peace.

There's a tweet going around that said the try guys were bastardizing the term "trauma" because "how the hell is a cheating scandal traumatizing?" and it made me so angry. How can you watch the consequences and the fall out of the scandal and not think it's traumatizing? Losing a friendship is hard enough, but losing a sense of trust in someone you thought was a friend? A sense of trust in yourself to have the right people around you? The feeling of fear and anxiety because that person's reckless and narcissistic behavior caused your staff to get DEATH THREATS and possibly lose their income? And on top of that, you're losing your bag and it's happening all publicly! How is that not traumatizing???

The third possible reason for him cheating so publicly (with one and two being stupidity or arrogance) is that some part of him wanted to be caught. Like in some ways it’s much easier to be forcibly removed from your role as a husband and father than it is to actually face your partner and leave them. I know it seems like insane logic, but it’s not all that uncommon - many people self sabotage in order to manipulate the other person in the relationship into ending things so that they don’t have to

A lot of people are mad at them for calling this experience "traumatic" but their whole company, reputation and possibly their finance stability were all affected bc of ned's actions.

I feel so bad for Ariel as a person who was so gallingly disrespected, a wife so hurt by someone she loves and as a mother who has to worry about how this impacts her kids. But one thing that I don’t hear talked about a lot is the fact that Ned absolutely financially screwed her, not just himself and the Try Guys. Ned made the stupid decision to tie his whole professional persona to her and then cheat (incredibly, bafflingly recklessly), but her work in content creation is so entangled in that. And now he’s out of the company, she’s almost certainly lost the podcast, their cookbook/lifestyle brand thing is dead, etc. He mortgaged their house to start this business and then he torched it because he couldn’t respect her enough to tell her he was unhappy and couldn’t keep it in his pants around an employee.

When talking about how cheating needs to be done with some form of hate it reminds me of that clip of Ned speaking about his wife's cleaning. She throws out his old leftovers that were sitting in the fridge for DAYS and he said it like she was so annoying for that and was clearly ticked off by it. When the wife heard and responded in a later podcast she said she was hurt by it. She thought she was cleaning and looking after their home, but for him to disregard her efforts and label her annoying in front of thousands clearly hurt her. It showed a bit of insight to the way he sees his wife and the slight petty resentment he holds. OH and the fact he credited someone else for keeping the house clean, AND said having kids "ruins you and any chance of romantic interest"

The last few minutes of your video hit hard. My dad cheated on my mom when I was little. My "family" ended when he cheated. And the questions you asked at the end are the questions that plagued my childhood well into my teens. I told myself that clearly we meant nothing to him if we meant less than the thrill of cheating. Like, our entire family, who we were, me as his child, it was all worth the gamble. I was three when my dad cheated, and it was everyone's conversation my entire childhood. Ned's kids WILL know, his kids will question their worth for a very very long time. F this man!

Don’t forget that Eugene comes from a divorced family. He’s talked a little bit about the struggles of growing up with that. And to see someone he considered a friend cheat on his wife, after having 2 kids, that would be infuriating. Especially if he was friends with Ariel before she married Ned. His anger is 1000% understandable

I think the swift action by Zack, Keith, and Eugene, acting even before the public knew a thing, will save the company. They didn’t try to cover up for Ned, or make excuses. They faced what was going on once they knew, without needing public pressure. The good ones shouldn’t pay for Ned being an asshole. And think about it-how conceited does someone have to be to cheat IN PUBLIC like this when they’re so well-known? I guess it’s on brand for him, considering how much he loved to wave having gone to an Ivy League school.

Something that has been weighing heavy on my mind since this news broke was thinking back to when they first started the company. Their first office space was literally Ned and Ariel's old house. He was an integral part of getting things going in the beginning, he obviously cared a lot about this. To go from starting the company with your friends and your wife and newborn son to just being willing to throw it all away by cheating in public is so crazy to me. That man needs therapy.

My grandma used to say “ if you’re going to do something bad at least do it right!” Ned cheating on his wife who he “loves” is sick but Alex sitting there listening to Ariel talk about her insecurities, hyping her up just to turn around and f***k her husband is VILE!

“He saw our font and copied it!” The pettiness! 😂🤣😭😭

Cheaters honestly fascinate me. Kennie hit the nail on the head for just how outrageous it is not to HIDE something like this

Imagine destroying decade long friendships, your boss placement at the company you 1/4 own, your wife and sons' trust, your public and private reputation, and your entire social media career for the irrelevant, less interesting food baby who is also your engaged employee. The level of STUPIDITY 🙄

I think you're the first commentary I've seen that acknowledged the complexities and financial aspects of removing Ned from the Try Guys. He was a co-founder of the business. He co-owned the company. He undoubtedly had put money in the pot to help start things up. You just can't hand a person like that their walking papers very easily. You did a really good job of breaking this all down. I'd tell you that you could have a future in drama stuff, but I would miss my Saturday bad movie fix.

i’m so glad you covered this cause i’ve seen too many people say “he only cheated, why is he getting fired and cancelled, everyone makes mistakes” like…. there’s LAYERS

Someone mentioned how you rarely hear Ned say "Ariel". He always says "my wife". A sign of a cheater is when they never call their partner by name because they're scared they'll call the wrong person. I thought that was pretty interesting since my ex did the same kind of things Ned did--cheated, never called my name, made me his personality. This scandal, specifically the comment relating to the scandal, really took me back.

Ned really put all of his personality eggs in one basket then decided to smash it with a hammer

One thing I want to add is that Ariel supported Ned for years in whatever he was doing. He left Buzzfeed when she was pregnant and they lost their health insurance and she still went for it. She stayed home for the kids, she gave up her own career for a good few years so Ned could focus on growing the TryGuys brand and channel. She was pulled into being a part of the brand because of him, first because he would not shut up about her and then as an active part of the channel. This was her livelihood as well and whatever she decides to do, I am sure she won't be returning to the podcasts or the video segments she was a part of. I am guessing they will stop selling their cook book soon. She was able to start working as an interior designer again through Ned but now, if she ever decides to work in the field again, when people search up her name they will find this scandal and the two things she has designed that she is most known for: the TryGuys office and the house she lives(ed?) in with Ned. All tied up with her cheating husband. He completely ruined everything for her when she sacrificed everything for him.

I didn't realize that Alex was basically pretending to be Ariel's friend and then screwed her husband behind her back, imagine spending so much time with someone you thought was your friend, only for them to betray you with your husband.

Agreed about Ned being low-key bad to Ariel. Once, on the you can sit with us podcast, she opened up about how even though she's an interior designer with her own life, Ned had been using his company as an excuse to leave her with more of the housework and childcare. Like pulling all the night shifts with the baby and etc. That was like a year ago probably but it stuck with me, because it was a confirmation for me that the whole Wife Guy Family Man Thing was probably played up quite a bit.

Apparently in CA, other employees can also sue if they think Alex got preferential treatment because Ned dated Alex. Wild stuff. Ned is beyond the worst.

the cheating was so reckless that i almost believed it was a prank 😭 like i thought we'd be seeing a "try guys tries to prank the internet" video later on or something

Watching this 6 months later and seeing how they are thriving without him, hits different.

I felt especially bad for Ariel when I found out she already felt insecure being older than her husband.... then dude just cheats with a younger woman 😭 Ned solidified that insecurity for the rest of her life, regardless if they stay together or not 🙃

I find it crazy how some people are saying the try guys aren’t allowed to be traumatized by the situation because they aren’t the fiancé or wife. Like? What? Is romantic relationships more important than platonic relationships?

I saw the SNL sketch the other day and I felt like it illustrated how people who don't ever watch the Try Guys videos underappreciate all the layers of fuck-up. You perfectly showed in this video on how many levels this scandal has affected a whole bunch of people! He managed to fuck up his relationship with his wife, his family and his friends, endangering their business, finances and the livelihood of their employees, humiliating his wife, probably her losing involvement with the business as well, and then there's Alex's end where her fiancé who she's been with for a decade has also been cheated on and she has also impacted people in her life negatively. This is shit has layers like a crêpe cake.

Ned was displaying a Shakespearian level of hubris

Ned really hated Ariel and his children then. It also shows that he is untrustworthy, unreliable, deceptive, fiscally and morally irresponsible in his life as well as business. I say it was very right that the remaining Try Guys were furious and fired him.

It’s so strange and sad for Ariel and her kids. But seriously one decision nearly crashed the entire business. When people think of the Try Guys now, they may think of this … brand ruined!

I think part of Ned's audacity comes from the fact that he is the most privileged of the guys. Born rich, went to Yale, cisgender, heterosexual, white, and able bodied. Keith is most of those things too, but I think Keith grew up as a "dork" while Ned was a jock. And a bit of fame went straight to his ego and Ned just believed that he could get away with anything and would never have to face consequences.

My problem with the "consensual workplace relationship" bit is that Ned CANNOT be 100% certain that it was entirely consensual. He was her BOSS, and the unequal power dynamic may have affected her decision-making process. Like Kennie said, he signed her paychecks. He had some say on how much exposure she gets on the channel and what kind of work she gets. One could say that there is NO way the relationship was consensual.

I saw a comment that said something like “them handling this so carefully to avoid being sued tells me Ned would actually sue them if he could” and honestly… I can see it

“Cheating is the act of someone who hates you. No one can disregard your emotional well-being, physical well-being, sexual health, peace of mind, your ability to trust people, and flat out embarrass you on this kind of level…if they love you in any way that matters.” To paraphrase

Ned being the least favorite try guy 10000% influenced his decisions, I fear. Like he's just one of those people who do not have a personality, and kind of just exist. He's not terrible to hang out with, and he has a sense of humor but he is definitely the npc of the party. I think he definitely knew that and probably didnt think that The Try Guys would ever become something when he participated in those Buzzfeed videos. I think they grew so fast and were unprepared for how likable they were perceived to be and he didn't have anything else but the fact that he was the first one married. To me, honestly, it's like he almost used that over the other guys to obviously make up for his own personal insecurities. Eugene is taller, has better hair, and is just seemingly good at every task handed to him? "Well, I'm married. You're not." Keith is the funniest and quick witted one, with a deeper more sultry voice? "Well, I'm married. You're not." Zach is the quirky, sassy one who brings the most heart? "Well, I'm married. You're not." It's like he used his marriage to compensate for his lack of individuality and used it as a trophy that he was the first and only, for a while, to have acquired. I think that with Eugene coming out and bringing in a lot of new subs and views, and with Keith have being married for a few years now, Zach and Eugene both getting very close to settling down and getting married soon, mixed with the knowledge that he is probably the last ranked in relatability and likeability, Ariel now having her time taken up by business and especially the two kids, just snapped and saw a way to feel desired again. Even now, I feel like he's relishing in the fact that a lot of people are talking about him for the first time and know his name, even if it's in a negative light. I think feeling desired by Alex, him depraved for attention, made him so reckless and nonchalant. Not to mention the power that comes along with the obvious bank they make. He probably was living on cloud nine, thin ki ing rhat he would get away with it, the fear of getting caught adding to make the affaur more enticing. Mix all of that together, and you have a desperate and greedy man ready to do anything to still feel needed and attractive.

A"consensual relationship"? When people trumpet consent in cases of adultery, it's really disrespectful to the wronged partner. Ariel didn't consent share her husband. She didn't know of or agree to the inherent risks of adding a third to their sex life. Alex's fiance, likewise, didn't consent to adding Ned to their bed.

The part where you talked about Ned disregard of Ariel, even in the smallest act, reminds me of this one trypod video i think where all the other try guys expressed their appreciation towards their partner and then there's Ned whose whole internet personality is Mr. Wife Guy, instead of appreciating Ariel for taking care of the household chores and kids and be there for him through ups and down, he rant about her throwing out his LEFTOVERS the whole fricking time. Even Ariel felt unappreciated, she talked about it in her podcast, she keeps waiting for Ned to express his appreciation but she got zonk, it's very heartbreaking to watch.

I have zero tolerance for cheating and you hit on exactly why: someone who does that doesn't care enough about you, and depending on the circumstances is showing they're capable of other bad things

I feel like it was arrogance mixed with the self loathing. Like “no one’s going to recognize me” mixed with “what are they gonna do? Fire me?”

Also... what is Alex getting out of this? Blowing up her relationship, losing her job, ruining her reputation... FOR NED? Like if it was Eugene I'd get it, but NED?

can't believe this dude was so insecure, he not only blew up an 11 year relationship AND possibly his own 10 year marriage that resulted in 2 children under the age of 5, he also threw the past 8 years him and the rest of the guys spent building this brand away all to hook up with his employee for nearly a year. truly the definition of "fumbled the bag".

I think another reason Eugene was so mad was because he was dancing the line of leaving try guys at that point and this totally threw off his plan for his own career as well as the company

What’s most fascinating to me is the fact the group broke away from buzzfeed and made their own company, went through all the legal stuff for it and then Ned comes along and had the potential not just to ruin his career but the business they’ve made (mostly) by themselves. It’s crazy like what was he thinking?

Honestly, I feel really bad for Ariel and Alex’s ex-fiancé. How can you make your whole personality about your wife and then just slap her in the face by cheating (openly!) with an employee! Really it’s sooo messy. I would hope she would leave him, but by the look of it, she won’t, which makes me so sad. She deserves so much better than him. Also, the office must be hella awkward if Alex is still working at the office 👀

The fact that they are also worried about Ned potentially suing them really says something too, to be honest. I know America is a very litigious society in general but to have someone as a friend for years and not be able to say for sure that they won’t sue you is breathtakingly audacious to me.

I realized something: I just learned his wife’s name is Ariel since she was always referred to as WIFE so it doesn’t surprise me one bit he cheated so publicly. He doesn’t love Ariel, he loves the idea she represents as his wife so he did not care at all if he was caught. Poor poor woman, he is the epitome of trash

You pretty much hit everything on the head. I’m an ex-manager for a large corporation and ya know. We take sexual harassment classes. That tell us even consensual relationships create complications legally for a company. Every raise, every promotion -every damn opportunity the subordinate gets-is now a liability for the company. Then-if they’re held back as to not create liability-they get to sue because they didn’t get promoted or get raises because they were having a relationship with a manager.

I was admittedly surprised, but my partner wasn't when I told him. He said Ned always seemed like he was trying too hard to push the story that he had the perfect life, perfect wife, perfect kids, etc. He said Ned, of the four, seemed like the one most likely to cheat. Another commenter pointed it out on another video, but Eugene also lived through his parents' messy divorce, and really likes Ned's kids, so I'm sure he was also angry for them as someone who's been through that.

"Cheating is the act of someone that hates you." Amen.

"They were able to match the ugly shirt je was wearing" i stan the pettiness 🤣🤣

(Speaking as someone whose family member has had an affair) I feel like a lot of people underestimate how much one individual's adultery affects everyone in their life. Like, obviously it hurts the partner that was cheated on the most, but also their family and friends. The betrayal, pain, and grief is unreal.

you talking about ned disregarding ariel in little ways makes me remember when she was talking about how he gets mad at her for cleaning out the fridge but he never ever helps her clean up

It's weird because this scandal is so big that it's literally larger than the Try Guys. There were people like me who literally had no idea who they were but were caught up in the wave of the scandal's outbreak, which means that now there are people whose only experience with them IS the scandal. That's gonna take a lot of effort and a lot of time to get away from.

Eugene was giving “YOU CANT SIT WITH US!!” And I was living for it 🤩

The act of cheating is so fascinating, how can you inflict so much harm to the person you're supposed to love ? You know you can just break up right ?

I 100% think he hated being the “my wife” guy. He didn’t have anything interesting he could use as a personality online so he used his family and ended up feeling trapped. I’m sure he didn’t care that he cheated in public and he probably wanted to get caught

All I’ve learned from all of this is never trust a guy that makes his wife half his personality.

Basically the same situation happened in my family. My parents were seen as this forever couple that would grow old together and that nothing could split them. Guess what, my father cheated with at least two different women. It really takes a toll on you. I just hope that Ariel and the kids are doing okay

Yeah, in the videos that people have been looking at recently, Ariel never gets a compliment from Ned. All the guys are talking about their partners and how great they are about sharing housework or cleaning, and Ned just bitched about Ariel throwing away rotten leftovers. And she was listening to it with the other partners and she just sounded so disappointed “I was waiting for him to say how much he appreciated me after Keith went.” He’s never respected her. I hope she has the ability mentally, physically, and emotionally to leave because she deserves someone that actually loves her.

Kennie said FINE WILL YALL SHUT UP NOW??? 🤣🤣🤣 Thanks for the tea bestie **Edit: Kennie said nearly every single thing I had been thinking and feeling about this fiasco

To me, the fact that he wasn’t sneaky about it at all implies that there wasn’t any shame or guilt. If someone sneaks around that means they know that what they’re doing is wrong, but to just do it out in the open implies that he didn’t think anything bad was gonna come from it which is BAFFLING

This dude reminds me of my dad... Who brought the woman he cheated on my mom with to our house when we weren't there and didn't try to hide it from his friends at all. And who is the reason why we lost all our money... People like this are just disgusting

I can only imagine that subconsciously he wanted out. His disregard for his wife and very young children is astounding. He was arrogant. What Kennie said was on point.

to cheat on someone in such a public way, with someone your wife and all your friends know, really does seem like an act of hatred. there’s no way he couldn’t know just how humiliating and painful that would be for ariel. or, maybe even worse somehow, he didn’t even consider it.

Alex was also Ariel’s friend…Ariel did so many incredibly vulnerable things with Alex and this is what happens…

Saying cheating is the act of somebody that hates you is the most accurate profound take on cheating I have EVER heard!

I couldnt even imagine how humiliating it must be to learn of your partners affair via fans and social media

Allll of this, but also, may I just add that he probably thought he could get away with it because they HAD BEEN sneaking around for OVER A YEAR!! Supposedly anyways, Ned was seeing her for so long right under everyone's noses. For me this adds a layer of disrespect, because it wasn't even some one night stand (which is also horrible), but like an active relationship for a whole 12 months or more. He was making an active choice for MONTHS to disrespect and hurt his wife. This wasn't some "heat of the moment" kind of nonsense, this was absolutely active malicious intent.

I am unsure of the timeline of the whole relationship, but watching videos when Ariel expresses her insecurities about her body or face or everything about her, it makes me wonder if she already knew about his cheating and could only express it vaguely in the video. It's just heartbreaking.

You could see how physical enraged Eugene is. There was definitely multiple times we’re here wanted to go off road and just let all the insults and anger towards Ned out

Just wanna add onto the family regard which is that Ned's mother-in-law, Ariel's own family has appeared on the channel as well in a cook-off against Ned. Plus Ariel helped the Try Guys when they were establishing their business (other comments explain it better)

Honestly Ned caused so many problems not only for himself but also for everyone around him...

i just can't imagine risking your career and your friends careers that you all worked towards for years, as well as risking your family, just for an affair? he has put every single person he cares about on the line. that's insane to me.

The look on Eugene's face in that response video almost set my hair on fire.

No because Kennie is so right about everyone getting divorced and cheated on. I literally found out last week that my supposed friend was cheating on his girlfriend with someone else, and flirting with a bunch of girls at the same time. This can not be a coincidence 💀💀

The sheer recklessness is what made me pay attention. He HAD to be fully aware that if he got caught he was going to blow up not only everyone around him in some sense either economically and/or emotionally (but hey, selfish people be selfishing so perhaps he just didn't care about that part) but that he was going to DESTROY his own career. And he was SO reckless about being seen and his relationship coming out that some part of him had to be flirting with not caring that other people knew or so thinking he was above everything that no one would ever know or comment. Like there's a fascinating psychological level to this for me.

Me: I'm done following the try guys scandal, its over. Kendell: * posts * Me: ...we can make an exception...

My dad cheated on my mom, we found out this year. We had to built everything from 0, it destroyed my trust on other people, especially around men (not all men bla bla bla, you know the drill). His kids are going to feel this once they grow, cause cheating isn't just about the couple, it can destroy a family.

I appreciate you saying her name and showing her face...like she's not innocent here. They were out in PUBLIC making out and shit as public figures and some creators are protecting her name like it makes 0 sense.

Kennie NEEDS to come out with a podcast. I will literally listen to her talk about anything from bad movies to RU-vid drama to neighbourhood gossip i need it

The weird thing is they're completely aware they have a lot of teenage girls who watch them. They even mentioned teenager fans in the recent podcast. So to cheat publicly at a Harry Styles concert?! Like, what was he thinking?!

The try guys editing team is absolutely amazing I am blown away with how much they were able to edit him out. I really hope that Ariel, her kids, Will, and they guys are able to heal and get all the comfort they need.

First one to give Ariel agency and recognizes her contributions. She is not just Ned’s wife.