Article content
Ads for cheating sex site Ashley Madison teased that “Life is short. Have an affair.”
But for many using the notorious Toronto-based extramarital dating site ended in tears.
Article content
Now, a new three-part Netflix documentary Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal is pulling back the covers on the website’s rise and fall.
“We really didn’t want it to be a moralizing, judgmental series all about why you should never cheat on your partner. Because of course, we all know how destructive and damaging infidelity can be. That’s not the most interesting thing to say about it,” director Toby Paton told the New York Post.
Advertisement 2
Article content
“So, we wanted to make a series that was not going to be judgmental. But at the same time, we didn’t want to be flippant or glib, saying, ‘It’s OK to cheat.’ Because of course, it’s not the case. There are dark and awful consequences … So we wanted to find a way to strike the right tone.”
Ashley Madison had been cooking with gas until 2015 when a data breach authored by still unknown hackers that released client names triggered a bonanza for divorce lawyers. The company even offered a $500,000 reward for info on the virtual scoundrels but it went nowhere.
But the hackers did demand that the site be taken down.
The docu-series features interviews with company employees. The website’s founder and then-CEO, Noel Biderman, did not participate.
Your Midday Sun
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
Former YouTube star — and devout Christian — Sam Radar whose extramarital antics were exposed is also interviewed about the crushing fallout. He and his wife Nia remain together.
“This is an issue that is in our past. This was before I got onto YouTube. I brought this to my church at the time… this was brought to my wife’s attention, she has forgiven me for this mistake that I’ve made in opening the account,” Radar said in his interview.
“I’ve sought forgiveness from God, and he’s forgiven me. So I’ve been completely cleansed of this sin.”
Most were less than forthcoming when producers tried to interview them nearly a decade later.
Paton added: “It was extremely difficult to find people who were willing to open up on-screen.”
Advertisement 4
Article content
The tremors from the data breach exposed 35 million cheaters and wannabes. Most were average Joes and Josephines but there were also some big names.
Convicted sex offender/reality TV star Josh Duggar was on the list. At the time, he was also suspected of molesting five underage girls — including two of his younger sisters.
The troubled Bible thumper issued an apology at the time.
“I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife,” Duggar said.
“I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him.”
Six years later, Duggar was behind bars on a child pornography beef.
Other notables include former Florida state attorney Jeff Ashton, who remains married to his wife Rita, and Josh Taekman, who is best known for being the spouse of Real Housewives of New York star Kristen Taekman.
The Netflix docuseries was released on May 15 and is now available for streaming.
@HunterTOSun
Article content