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What’s happening with Ethan and Hila Klein? The H3 Podcast fallout, explained

Chloe9 min read

Hila Klein and Ethan Klein attend the 2023 Streamy Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on August 27, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Ethan Klein has spent years dissecting other people’s internet scandals on the H3 Podcast, the comedy and commentary show he built with his wife, Hila. Now, their own relationship is at the center of the conversation.

Hila has accused Ethan of having an affair lasting more than six months, leaving the couple’s marriage and the future of their show in question. Fans are trying to make sense of the news, while people across social media are digging through old episodes and swapping what they believe are clues.

If you’ve seen the posts but don’t know the people behind them, here’s what happened — and how a marriage, a podcast, and years of internet history became tangled together.

First, who are Ethan and Hila Klein?

Before the podcast, there was h3h3Productions. Ethan and Hila launched the YouTube channel in 2011, posting sketches and reaction videos that poked fun at viral clips, internet trends, and other creators. Ethan was often the louder, more confrontational presence, with Hila appearing alongside him.

One of their breakout videos was 2016’s “Vape Nation,” (30 million views) which followed Ethan around New York City playing an exaggerated vaping enthusiast. The outfits, enormous vape clouds, and interactions with strangers helped make him a recognizable figure in YouTube comedy.

The couple met in Israel in 2007, while Ethan was visiting on a Birthright trip, and married in 2012. As their audience grew, viewers got to know them as both creative partners and a couple.

Their H3 Podcast expanded that world into longer conversations, mixing internet commentary with interviews featuring guests such as Post Malone and Joji. The production crew became part of the show, too, joining discussions and developing their own followings.

That dynamic also powered Frenemies, the show Ethan began co-hosting with YouTuber Trisha Paytas in 2020. Sitting in front of a pink-and-black backdrop, the two traded personal stories, discussed other creators, dressed in costumes, and, most commonly, argued.

SEE ALSO:

Trisha Paytas steps down from ‘Frenemies’ podcast after tense dispute on the show

The partnership ended in June 2021 amid disputes over money, production, and creative input. But Paytas remained connected to the family: She married Hila’s brother, Moses Hacmon, later that year.

Through these different versions of H3, the Kleins’ relationship remained a familiar presence. Viewers followed them as they built businesses and raised their three children. Hila also founded the clothing brand Teddy Fresh in 2017 and later launched the makeup brand Teddy Glow.

Their lives and work became closely intertwined. But now, their separation means figuring out how to untangle them.

What did Hila say happened?

On Oct. 22, Ethan announced on Instagram Stories that the H3 Podcast was going on “indefinite hiatus.” Hila’s subsequent Instagram statement revealed the personal crisis unfolding behind the scenes.

“I am living in a nightmare I can’t wake up from,” she wrote. “My husband has been having an affair. I have been fed lie after lie after lie for months. I am tired of lies. Here is the truth.”

Hila said she had sensed something was wrong and tried to discuss her concerns with Ethan. According to her account, he dismissed her questions, but the behavior that worried her continued.

“So I trusted him. Because I loved him,” she wrote. “I stopped questioning him and began to question myself, my own instincts. My sanity.”

When she eventually caught him in a lie, she said, his explanation kept changing. “‘It was just a kiss’ became ‘it was emotional cheating,'” she wrote. “After I dragged these lies from him, he finally admitted he’d been in an affair for over 6 months, the extent of which I’m sure I still don’t know.”

“He was my safe place, my partner in marriage, parenting, and business,” she continued. “My only family on this side of the world. How do I even begin to make sense of this?” Hila said she was navigating separation and co-parenting while focusing on herself and their children. She did not identify the other person allegedly involved.

What does this mean for Ethan and the podcast?

The crew’s response quickly made clear that the fallout would extend into the workplace.

“We are all shocked, angry, and heartbroken to learn about Ethan’s ongoing affair,” the team wrote in its own Instagram statement. “We stand with Hila and will support her every step of the way.”

“As soon as we found out, we all agreed: we would not continue working with Ethan involved or profiting in any way,” they added. “We don’t yet know what that means for the future. There’s a lot to work through, and we wish we had more answers for you.”

Ethan subsequently said he was working to remove his financial interests from the businesses he shares with Hila.

“I am working with Hila to urgently remove my ownership and financial stakes in any podcasts, Teddy Fresh, Teddy Glow or any joint venture that I would profit from,” he wrote on Instagram Stories.

“All of your support will go directly to Hila and the crew. I do this in the hope that people can still support Hila and the crew without the concern of enriching me.” He also praised the team and said its members could make an “awesome show.”

In a separate statement, Ethan asked people not to contact his family seeking him or their comments. “They have nothing to do with this and share in your outrage and disappointment,””he wrote.

Why is Ned Fulmer involved?

SEE ALSO:

From BuzzFeed to streaming: A decade retrospective of the Try Guys

Ethan had plenty to say when another creator’s “wife guy” image fell apart.

In September 2022, Try Guys member Ned Fulmer admitted to a “consensual workplace relationship” with an employee. The revelation was particularly jarring because Fulmer had made his devotion to his wife, Ariel, a recurring part of the group’s videos. The Try Guys announced his removal that month.

“The really sad part is they have two kids,” he said. “Cheating is so despicable, man, especially when there’s kids involved.”

Ethan, who shares three children with Hila, also criticized men who betray their partners after watching them go through childbirth. “It’s got to be humiliating for his wife,” he said. “And she’s got to do this in the public eye.”

Fulmer wasn’t about to let that pass. On Oct. 25, he posted two blunt responses on X: “ethan klein can fuck all the way off,” followed by “karma’s a bitch, huh?”

Why are Trisha Paytas and Hasan Piker coming up, too?

Once people started looking backward, the conversation expanded beyond Ethan’s comments about Fulmer to his history with former collaborators. For Paytas, that meant renewed attention to old clips in which she criticized Ethan and discussed his marriage. (Because she is married to Hila’s brother, Moses, the allegations involve her family as well as her former co-host.)

On Oct. 25, Paytas reshared a message on Instagram Stories that read, “Please be with someone who thinks everything about you is a big deal,” listing birthdays, favorite foods, and favorite flowers as examples. It ended with “You in general? A big deal.”

As for Hasan Piker, Ethan launched political podcast Leftovers with Piker, the left-wing Twitch streamer also known as HasanAbi, in September 2021. The two discussed the news, mocked conservative figures, and debated their own political differences.

Their partnership broke down in 2023, following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza. Disagreements over Israel became increasingly contentious, and their final Leftovers episode aired on Oct. 12, 2023. The arguments continued long after the show ended. Ethan eventually released a lengthy takedown titled Content Nuke — Hasan Piker, and Piker responded to his accusations through livestreams.

That history gave Piker’s Oct. 23 post on X an apparent target. “JUDGE ME BY MY ENEMIES,” he wrote. He also made a 90-minute video called, “THE ETHAN KLEIN AFFAIR CLUES ARE INSANE,” which has amassed over 1 million views in 24 hours. The video accumulates what he calls “diabolical clues.”

Between Frenemies, Leftovers, and years of internet feuds, Ethan has given plenty of people a reason to follow the fallout — and they can’t stop watching it unfold on social media (at least, I can’t).

Much of that attention has turned into amateur detective work, with viewers combing through old episodes and comparing notes on TikTok and Reddit. The speculation has centered on Tamara Joseph, an animator and podcaster on H3, as users point to supposed social media unfollows and past interactions with Ethan. (Neither Ethan nor Hila publicly identified her as the person involved in the statements discussed here.)

On Reddit, some viewers are revisiting moments they once laughed off. In a thread titled “The foreshadowing here was crazy,” commenters are trying to work out whether the crew suspected anything, whether Hila was suspicious, debating whether H3 could survive without Ethan, or simply mourning a show they spent years watching.

Users on X, Reels, and TikTok have done the same.

Ultimately, you can comb through the threads yourself, but be prepared to lose an afternoon. Years of publicly documented relationships have become material for a sprawling crowdsourced investigation. Happy sleuthing.

Source: https://mashable.com/life/ethan-hila-klein-h3-podcast-affair-allegations-explained

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