The “Wife Guy” Shtick, The Online Brand That Never Works

What makes an average married man on the internet a "Wife Guy" and why do we always fall for it?

The internet was in absolute shock this week when the most notable “wife guy” of the internet, Ned Fulmer was fired from the very loved ex-Buzzfeed group The Try Guys due to admitting he had a “consensual workplace relationship” with his producer Alex Herring. It is a scandal that has embroiled the entire internet even with news outlets and Fulmer’s old employees from Buzzfeed chiming in.

"Family should have always been my priority, but I lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship. I'm sorry for any pain that my actions may have caused to the guys and the fans but most of all to Ariel. The only thing that matters right now is my marriage and my children, and that's where I am going to focus my attention." - Ned Fulmer

This just sounds like a normal cheating scandal you would hear on most Youtube drama channels, so why is the internet so up in arms about this one?

Apart from having an affair with a colleague for which he was the boss (ouch!). It is the brand and way he created his online presence which made people disappointed in his actions and was something absolutely nobody saw coming.

His career on the internet is now practically unsalvageable.

Fulmer in every Try Guys episode always mentions his wife, Ariel Fulmer. His catchphrase is “My wife” or “I love my wife” and he made being married to Ariel his online personality and job, it’s even in his Instagram bio for goodness sake. A perfect example of a “Wife Guy”.

What is a Wife Guy you may ask?

A Wife Guy is a married man whose public branding and presence rely on the fact that they are absolutely in love and infatuated with their wife. They worship the ground they walk on and put them on an extraordinarily high pedestal. Several offenders include John Mulaney, Ryan Reynolds and Adam Levine. Two out of three in which have cheated on their spouse. To use the Wife Guy gimmick is not effective at all and causes marriage breakdowns but these famous men just seem to love using this shtick much to their detriment.

The Wife Guy creates a false narrative of romantic security and wholesomeness by always seemly putting their wife and family first when in reality, they just won’t shut up about it and bring it up in every single conversation. It is all vapid and performative. It is to gain the public’s trust because a family man and a loving husband are so cute and adorable! They can do no wrong, right?

The only reason they would use this gimmick is that they bring absolutely nothing else to the table. Wife Guys must over-compensate their vanilla personalities with their constant admiration for their wives because apart from that, they are nothing else.

Observing a Wife Guy cheating on their spouse is like watching a horrifying car accident but when you investigate the aftermath you realise that there were no breaks in the car to begin with.

In terms of the Try Guys, Ned unfortunately set up his own trap for his descent into YouTube scandal infamy by trying to portray himself as the Try Guy who loves his wife and made it a part of the Try Guys brand which created armageddon for the rest of the company who are scrambling to pick up the pieces of duplicity and the next steps for their brand thrown into uncertainty. A domino effect caused by one man's facade.

Fulmer's story is a cautionary tale to not trust men, especially online personalities, who do the bare minimum.