Have you found that monogamy has become monotonous? After all, marriage isn't easy; routine becomes repetitive, sex becomes sparkless, and commitment becomes colourless. If your marriage has faded from passionate to parched, there is a simple solution: have an affair!
Ashley Madison is there for all your extramarital needs (although it may leak your highly sensitive data in the process, but that's a tale for later). By joining Ashley Madison, you are joining a community of like-minded individuals (and millions of bots) with over 80 million sign-ups since 2002 and 20k new members daily. The app boasts glowing reviews, with one user sharing, "Since meeting someone on Ashley Madison and reinvigorating the sexual part of my romantic life, I’m a better wife now than I was." Another user praised the app stating, "I have found the fulfilment I needed to return to my husband a satisfied partner. It’s completely removed the anxiety from our marriage." So, if your marriage has become tiresome and you find yourself craving the thrill of something new, Ashley Madison may be just the app for you.
After all, marriage isn't easy; routine becomes repetitive, sex becomes sparkless, and commitment becomes colourless.
That is, of course, if you can gloss over the disastrous data breach that toppled the company in 2015. Despite Ashley Madison promising discretion to their customers, a cyber-attack during the summer of 2015 revealed otherwise, exposing the personal information of over 30 million users. Names, passwords, emails and even sexual fantasies were leaked, including those of Noel Biderman, who was the former CEO of Ashley Madison. The leak exposed his enjoyment of escorts despite being a married man. But is it really that surprising that the CEO of an app promoting affairs is having one himself? Probably not.
In the aftermath of the attack, the fantasy of having an affair quickly faded and many were left with a sobering reality. Ashley Madison promised safety and security but failed to deliver, capitalistic greed and prioritisation of profit over protection led to one of the largest data breaches in the 21st century. The hackers, who went by The Impact Team, revealed that although Ashley Madison charged $20 to 'delete' your account, their personal information remained in the database. It shattered the illusion of secrecy that Ashley Madison sold to millions, leaving behind a trail of broken homes, legal battles, and trauma.
It shattered the illusion of secrecy that Ashley Madison sold to millions, leaving behind a trail of broken homes, legal battles, and trauma.
In New Orleans, a pastor, John Gibson committed suicide following the cyber-attack, mentioning the dating site in his suicide note. It is easy to sensationalise an app like Ashley Madison, one that thrives off scandal and outrage and, in the process, forget the very human cost involved in possibly millions of affairs. John Gibson's death serves as a reminder that real lives were being irreversibly impacted beneath the headlines. Trish McDermott, a founder of Match.com, stated, "This is a business built on the back of broken hearts, ruined marriages and damaged families". The aftermath of the data breach cemented McDermott's statement. The breach didn't just expose data; it exposed the real human cost behind a platform like Ashley Madison.
However, if the thrill of an affair still sounds tempting, it's important to familiarise who you are (or not) getting into bed with. Picture this: you've just got a new match, and it seems like you've hit the jackpot: a young, hot blonde. She's exciting and fun, everything your wife isn't. She doesn't nag you about the dirty dishes or ask you to take the kids to school, she's perfect, right? The catch is she's also not real.
Sadly, you are not chatting to Susie, 24, who likes video games and football. In fact, you're more likely to be chatting to an Ashley Madison employee. In 2013, a former employee claimed she was instructed to create hundreds of fake profiles of “alluring females”. She made so many that, Doriana Silva claimed, she had incurred Repetitive Strain Injury. It is clear that female bots play a large part in Ashley Madison. According to an analysis of the leaked data, Ashley Madison created more than 70,000 female bots to send male users millions of fake messages. So I'm afraid you are not chatting to Susie, you're more likely to be chatting to Doriana Silva.
Are you feeling cheated by Ashley Madison yet?
Despite numerous setbacks, the platform continues to be resilient and has managed to not only survive but thrive. Following the scandal, Biderman stepped down as CEO and his successor, Rob Segal, vowed renewed security measures. In 2017, the company settled a $576m class-action lawsuit from former customers for $11.2m, though their data remains online, acting as a permanent reminder of the breach. Following Netflix’s documentary, Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies and Scandal, the dating platform is continuously growing, with apparently 20k new members daily.
“It doesn’t surprise me that it’s still around today,” says Back in the series. “I always say that as long as men have penises, Ashley Madison will always be in business.”
The platform's surprising resilience speaks to a deeper societal demand. Ashley Madison’s enduring success underscores a universal truth: the human need for connection, passion, and secrecy. “It doesn’t surprise me that it’s still around today,” says Evan Back, the company's former vice-president of sales, in the series. “I always say that as long as men have penises, Ashley Madison will always be in business.”
