Author: Suzanne Nuyen, TEGNA
He didn’t let the internet ridicule get to him. The actor who played the husband in the widely criticized Peloton bike ad gifted his real life girlfriend an actual Peloton bike for Christmas.
Sean Hunter posted a photo of himself and his girlfriend next to a Peloton bike on his Instagram page.
“Here’s hoping this goes over better the second time…. Merry Christmas to my actual girlfriend (pls don’t leave me),” he wrote in the caption.
The original ad, which was released on youtube on Nov. 21, Hunter gives his on-screen wife a Peloton bike for Christmas. Throughout the ad, she documents her experience using a series of vlogs. Toward the end of the ad, she and her husband sit down to watch a year’s worth of vlogs on television in her living room.
The ad was criticized as sexist and awkward. It received so much backlash that both actors went on morning shows to discuss the reaction. Monica Ruiz, the “Peloton Wife” even poked fun at her first commercial in another ad for Aviation Gin, partially owned by actor Ryan Reynolds. In the ad, Ruiz toasts to “new beginnings” and gulps down a cocktail with some friends. Reynolds posted the ad on his Instagram page, noting “exercise bike not included.” Aviation Gin posted the ad to Instagram with the caption “This Holiday…Gift Responsibly”
Peloton responded to the internet reaction in a statement to CNBC, saying it was “disappointed” in how some viewers “misinterpreted” the advertisement.
We’ll all be waiting until next Christmas to see if Hunter’s girlfriend produces an entire film of her year with the bike for him to watch
