'H3 Podcast' Goes on Indefinite Hiatus as Crew Cuts Ties With Ethan Klein After Hila Klein Says He Had an Affair
Hila Klein wrote that her husband admitted to an affair of more than six months and that the couple has separated. Ethan Klein asked for privacy for his family and did not directly address the allegation.
The "H3 Podcast," the long-running YouTube show co-hosted by Ethan and Hila Klein, is on indefinite hiatus after Hila Klein said her husband has been having an affair for the past six months and that the couple has separated, Variety and the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
The show's production crew said in a statement on Instagram that its members had unanimously agreed they would no longer work with Ethan Klein. "We stand with Hila and will support her every step of the way. We're disgusted by Ethan's actions and the hurt he has caused. We all deserved better: Hila, us, and you," the crew wrote, according to Variety.
"We are all shocked, angry, and heartbroken to learn about Ethan's ongoing affair," the statement continued. "As soon as we found out, we all agreed: we would not continue working with Ethan involved or profiting in any way. 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."
Hila Klein made the allegation in an Instagram post late Thursday. "I am living a nightmare I can't wake up from. My husband has been having an affair. I have been fed lie after lie after lie for months. Here is the truth," she wrote, according to Variety.
"I could sense something was wrong. I tried to ask him questions and share my concerns and hurt feelings. But I was met with dismissive answers and no action," she wrote. "So I trusted him. Because I loved him. I stopped questioning him and began to question myself, my own instincts. My sanity."
She wrote that her husband was eventually "caught in a lie" and that his account 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." The allegation is hers; Ethan Klein has not publicly confirmed or disputed her account.
"The betrayal I feel is immeasurable. The person I loved and trusted for 20 years evaporated overnight. He was my safe place, my partner in marriage, parenting, and business," Hila Klein wrote. "My only family on this side of the world. How do I even begin to make sense of this?" She said she is "in survival mode, trying to navigate separation, co-parenting, and unthinkable heartbreak," and ended with a message to readers: "You're not crazy. Trust your instincts. Trust yourself. If you're not being treated right, get up and leave."
Ethan Klein responded Friday in an Instagram Story without addressing the allegation directly. "I know a lot of people are understandably looking for a comment from me, but I ask that you please respect my family's privacy and do not contact them looking for me or asking for their comments," he wrote, according to Variety. "They have nothing to do with this and share in your outrage and disappointment. Thank you."
The couple met in 2007, according to Variety, while Ethan was on a Birthright trip to Israel and Hila was doing her mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a 2017 video on their channel. They kept in touch over Skype before she moved to Santa Cruz, California, where he was attending college. They married in 2012 and have three children.
Through their company, H3H3 Productions, the Kleins have created content together since 2011, when they launched their YouTube channel, Variety reported. The channel, known for sketches and vlogs, took off around 2013 as the couple began posting reaction videos to viral clips, according to the Times, and the pair has more than 5 million followers. They started the "H3 Podcast" in 2016, which has 2.5 million YouTube subscribers, according to Variety. The Times reported that early episodes featured interviews with internet personalities including PewDiePie and Jake Paul.
After the post, some online commentators circulated old clips they said foreshadowed the split, including an October 2020 exchange on the "Frenemies" podcast in which Ethan Klein's former co-host Trisha Paytas told him she wished he could "be single while you're famous and rich," the Times reported.
The crew's statement ended on an uncertain note. "Please know that we're safe, we're sticking together, and we're looking after each other," it read. "Thank you for giving us some time to figure things out, and for all the love you've shown us. We love you, and we miss you already."
