How long was Jared Fogle Subway’s spokesperson?

Warning: The following article contains mentions of explicit themes and child sexual abuse material. Please read with caution.

Few spokespeople were as closely associated with the brand they represented as Jared Fogle, better known as Jared from Subway. Then again, few spokespeople have had such a sudden fall from grace — here’s how long Fogle represented Subway before his downfall.

Early on, Fogle’s story was something Subway would want to promote. Fogle used his former spacious pants size to show how eating Subway had purportedly transformed his body. He’d lost more than 200 pounds on the “Subway diet,” and Fogle’s popularity led to 300 TV commercials for the fast food chain, film appearances, and other media opportunities. In 2006, Fogle published Jared, the Subway Guy: Winning Through Losing: 13 Lessons for Turning Your Life Around, about his rags to riches story and weight loss journey.

Needless to say, Fogle’s healthy transformation and wholesome charm were a positive story that resonated with the Subway brand. Then, seemingly just as quickly as Fogle appeared on the scene, he was arrested and charged with possessing CSAM (child sex abuse material, referred to in the U.S. legal system and colloquially as child pornography), and traveling across state lines for commercial sexual contact with a minor, USA Today reported. Today, Fogle’s narrative is less about healthy living, like it once was, but something sinister instead.

Jared Fogle worked with Subway for around 16 years

Jared Fogle inked his Subway deal in 2000. His arrest happened in 2015, meaning he had a 15-year relationship with the brand, although some say Fogle and Subway worked together for 16 years. Subway cut its ties with Fogle immediately after his arrest, The Guardian reported in 2015.

Referring to Fogle, a Subway person said (via The Guardian), “We are shocked about the news and believe it is related to a prior investigation of a former Jared Foundation employee. We are very concerned and will be monitoring the situation closely.”

After pleading guilty to charges against him, Fogle received a 15-year sentence in Colorado, where he remains as of this report. Fogle’s estimated release date is March 2029. Fogle also paid $1.4 in restitution to 14 victims of the abuse, and he’ll need to serve at least 13 years of his sentence before he becomes eligible for parole.

Fogle was not the only one brought down in the 2015 underage sex scandal. Russell Taylor, former director of The Jared Foundation, a childhood obesity prevention nonprofit, also faced child pornography charges, and is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence, Global News reported.

Fogle’s story is now told in the 2023 Discovery+ documentary Jared from Subway: Catching a Monster.

If you know someone suffering from sexual violence, contact RAINN or the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.