Here's Why Celebrities Made Us Lose All Faith In Men In 2022

It goes without saying that 2022 saw some of the messiest celebrity cheating scandals unfold before our very eyes.

So much so, that it became branded the year that Wife Guys — aka guys whose whole personalities fixate on how much they love and adore their partners — fell off.

To paint a clearer picture, here are just nine of the worst celebrity infidelity scandals of the year.

Starting off strong, we have Adam Levine, who allegedly cheated on his pregnant wife of eight years, Behati Prinsloo, with Instagram model Sumner Stroh.

Sumner claimed in a since-deleted TikTok that she’d had “an affair” with Adam — who currently shares two kids with Behati — that lasted “about a year.” She said in the September video, “At the time, I was young, I was naive, and, I mean, quite frankly, I feel exploited. I wasn’t in ‘the scene’ like I am now, so I was definitely very easily manipulated.”

And Sumner went on to share a series of screenshots that seemingly showed Adam making some bizarre remarks about her body. In one of the images, the Maroon 5 frontman appeared to ask if he could use the model’s name for his new baby with Behati, too.

Needless to say, the entire ordeal took the internet by storm, with Adam’s alleged texts in particular becoming something of a meme. And more women wound up making similar allegations about the singer’s infidelity.

And while Adam later denied cheating on Behati in a statement addressing the scandal, he did admit that he’d “crossed the line.”

Next up, we have Ned Fulmer, former member of comedy group The Try Guys, whose infidelity caused a huge stir that very same month, in September.

Ned, who got married to Ariel Fulmer in 2012, admitted to engaging in a “consensual workplace relationship” after photos on Reddit appeared to show him kissing his colleague, Alex Herring, in a bar.

Ned shares two children with Ariel and famously built his whole brand around his love and devotion to his family, becoming one of the internet’s most prominent Wife Guys.

“Family should have always been my priority, but I lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship,” Ned said in a written statement. “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.”

The rest of the Try Guys — Keith, Zach, and Eugene — confirmed that Ned was no longer working with them as a result of the scandal. “We do not see a path forward together,” they shared. “We thank you for your support as we navigate this change.”

And the Try Guys simply couldn’t hide their anger in their first YouTube video discussing the ordeal. They were later commended by fans for expertly managing to edit Ned out of all their footage filmed before the scandal broke.

Just a couple of months ahead of the Try Guys drama, internet users went into a frenzy when Emily Ratajkowski hinted that Sebastian Bear-McClard, her husband of four years, had cheated on her.

The pair, who share a little boy named Sylvester, sparked rumors of a split back in July, when Emily was spotted without her wedding ring on. Shortly afterward, a source told Entertainment Tonight: “Emily and Sebastian have split. They’d been having issues as a couple for a bit. Emily is adjusting to this change and plans to file for divorce soon.”

Then, several eagle-eyed fans noticed that Emily liked a series of very pointed tweets suggesting that Sebastian had cheated on her — including one that called him a “little bitch.”

Lo and behold, by September, news broke that the model had officially filed for divorce from Sebastian.

On a much less subtle note, R&B singer Ne-Yo sparked outrage in September after his wife, Crystal Renay, accused him of “8 years of lies and deception.”

The pair, who started dating in 2014 and swiftly got engaged the following year, share three kids: Shaffer, Roman, and Isabella. Four years after tying the knot, Ne-Yo and Crystal announced that they had filed for divorce, before reconciling shortly after and going on to renew their vows in April 2022.

However, in July, the pair hit a rocky patch once again as Crystal accused Ne-Yo of cheating on her “with numerous women.”

“8 years of lies and deception,” she claimed. “8 years of unknowingly sharing my life and my husband with numerous women who sell their bodies to him unprotected...every last one of them!”

“To say I’m heartbroken and disgusted is a understatement,” she continued. “To ask me to stay and accept it is absolutely insane. The mentality of a narcissist. I will no longer lie to the public or pretend that this is something it isn't. I choose me, I choose my happiness and health and my respect.”

“I gained 3 beautiful children out of this but nothing else but wasted years and heartache,” she added. “I ask that you all please stop sending me videos or information of him cheating because what he does is no longer my concern.”

While Ne-Yo didn't directly address the cheating allegations, he did quickly tweet a response to Crystal's claims. “For the sake of our children, my family and I will work through our challenges behind closed doors,” he wrote.

“Personal matters are not meant to be addressed and dissected in public forums. I simply ask that you please respect me and my family’s privacy at this time,” he added. Days later, news broke that Crystal had officially filed for divorce.

Fans were left heartbroken in June when Shakira and Gerard Piqué announced that they were parting ways after 11 years together.

Discussing the split during an interview with Elle, Shakira admitted that some of the details were “too private” to share because things were “so raw and new.”

“This is really hard to talk about personally...especially because I’m still going through it, and because I’m in the public eye, and because our separation is not like a regular separation. And so it’s been tough not only for me, but also for my kids. Incredibly difficult,” she said.

“I can only say that I put everything I had into this relationship and my family,” she added.

Soon enough, rumors surfaced online that Gerard had cheated on Shakira, though neither party addressed these claims.

However, some people speculated that Shakira had thrown a shady jab or two at Gerard in some of her lyrics.

In her song “Te Felicito (I Congratulate You),” which was released in April, Shakira sings in Spanish: “To make you whole / I broke myself in pieces / I was warned, but I didn't take heed / Don't tell me you're sorry / I know you well and I know you’re lying.”

When asked about that particular lyric during her Elle interview, and specifically if it had anything to do with her and Gerard’s relationship, Shakira said: “I can only say that either consciously or subconsciously, everything I feel, everything I go through is reflected in the lyrics I write, in the videos I make.”

Next up, we have Ime Udoka, who was suspended from the Boston Celtics after allegedly cheating on his partner of 13 years, Nia Long, with a member of staff.

News broke in September that Ime had temporarily been axed from the team following reports that he had violated their code of conduct by engaging in an improper intimate and consensual relationship with a colleague.

Ime and Nia, who first met back in 2010, share an 11-year-old son named Kez.

A few months after the news of Ime’s alleged affair surfaced, a representative for Nia claimed that the longtime couple were “no longer together,” but were remaining “fully committed to coparenting their son.”

Soon enough, the actor wound up discussing the “devastating” ordeal herself in a candid chat with the Hollywood Reporter.

“I think the most heartbreaking thing about all of this was seeing my son’s face when the Boston Celtics organization decided to make a very private situation public,” she said in December.

“It was devastating, and it still is. He still has moments where it’s not easy for him,” she went on.

“If you’re in the business of protecting women — I’m sorry, no one from the Celtics organization has even called to see if I’m OK, to see if my children are OK,” she added. “It’s very disappointing.”

Another celebrity who found himself embroiled in a public controversy is Jason Derulo, whose ex, Jena Frumes, claimed he’d cheated on, “lied” to, and constantly “disrespected” her during their relationship.

The pair started dating in March 2020 and split in September 2021, just four months after welcoming their baby boy, Jason King.

“Jena and I have decided to part ways,” Jason announced in a since-deleted Twitter statement. “She is an amazing mother but we feel being apart at this time will allow us to be the best versions of ourselves and the best parents we could be. Pls respect our privacy [at] this time.”

Fast forward to this year, Jena put her ex on blast in July after an Instagram troll shamed her for being unmarried and called her a “whore.”

“It’s unfortunate my situation didn’t work out because we once did aspire to be married but maybe it’s best to be single than to be in a relationship & constantly be disrespected & cheated on and lied to. Or is it better to stay & be quiet so people like you approve?” Jena wrote in response to the user.

She later released another statement calling out the way that women are “judged” and blamed for their partners leaving them. Jason never denied Jena’s claims, nor did he publicly address her statement.

Liam Payne shook the internet to its core back in May, when an unsuspecting fan accidentally ignited what appeared to be a cheating scandal.

Liam was supposedly still engaged to his on-again, off-again girlfriend Maya Henry when a bunch of flirty photos — that showed the singer wrapping his arms around and holding hands with a woman — surfaced online.

Several fan accounts quickly reposted the pictures, gushing over what they thought were super cute snaps of Liam and Maya. One user in particular tagged Maya too, writing: “UPDATE: Liam and Maya look so cute here.”

But it turned out that it wasn’t actually Maya in the photos, but Aliana Mawla, a 24-year-old model and influencer.

And Maya didn’t shy away from making her confusion known to the public, taking to the comments of the fan account’s post to write: “I love all the fans so much but please stop sending me these pictures of my fiancé wrapped around another woman. This is not me and it’s hard enough knowing this has happened without seeing it. Enough now.”

However, Liam denied cheating on Maya, claiming through his representatives that they’d already parted ways before all this drama unfolded. A month later, he and Aliana had reportedly started dating, though this was apparently short-lived.

And last but ~certainly~ not least, we have Tristan Thompson, now-ex-boyfriend of Khloé Kardashian, and his shocking paternity scandal.

While the news that Tristan had fathered a child outside of his and Khloé’s relationship came to light at the end of 2021, it was this year that we learned all the heartbreaking details about it.

Tristan was exposed for impregnating Maralee Nichols, a personal trainer who sued him for child support expenses, when court documents from the case were leaked online. He took to his Instagram story to come clean about his infidelity in January, and to apologize to Khloé, whom he’d dated on and off for the past five years.

“Today, paternity test results reveal that I fathered a child with Maralee Nichols,” he wrote. “I take full responsibility for my actions. Now that a paternity test has been established I look forward to amicably raising our son. I sincerely apologize to everyone I’ve hurt or disappointed throughout this ordeal both publicly and privately.”

“Khloé, you don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve the heartache and humiliation I have caused you. You don’t deserve the way I have treated you over the years,” added Tristan, who has cheated on the reality star numerous times since 2018.

But things only went from bad to worse when it was later revealed that Khloé and Tristan had secretly been engaged the whole time, and that the NBA player had left the lavish party she threw him for his 30th birthday last March to sleep with — and impregnate — Maralee.

And thus concludes just a handful of the messiest celebrity cheating scandals of 2022.