Netflix is pulling back the curtain on the controversial website Ashley Madison and its infamous 2015 hack. The streamer’s latest docuseries Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal explores the stories of couples whose lives were impacted by the data breach. Several well-known names, from reality TV stars to YouTube personalities, were also involved in the scandal after it was discovered they were using the affair website.
Learn more about the docuseries and find out which celebrities are mentioned.
What Is ‘Ashley Madison’?
Ashley Madison is a dating site that was launched in 2002. The platform targets married couples and encourages cheating. Per its slogan, “Life is short. Have an affair.”
In 2015, the site was hacked, and countless Ashley Madison customers’ emails, messages and other data were exposed. Four years later, however, the site reported an increased number of users: 60 million.
While speaking with Business Insider, chief strategy officer Paul Keable pointed out that their site’s high numbers proved that “monogamy is not in our DNA.”
“[It’s] a community we’re incredibly proud of,” he added. “Currently more than 20,000 members join a day which illustrates the massive demand that exists for an online married-dating destination like ours. … People have realized that marriage might not be the fairytale they were sold, but divorce doesn’t necessarily make sense to them either. It’s costly, but more importantly, it doesn’t solve their problem.”
What Is the ‘Ashley Madison’ Doc About?
Netflix’s three-part docuseries tells the “story of the most appallingly intimate internet leak of the modern age, and what happened when people’s darkest desires, shameful betrayals and sexual secrets were exposed for the whole world to see,” per the logline.
“When Ashley Madison, a dating site for people seeking adulterous affairs, is hacked, millions of users’ intimate data is exposed, wrecking marriages and destroying lives,” the synopsis reads, according to Netflix. “This three-episode documentary series from Minnow Films and director Toby Paton explores the creation of the website during the dot com boom, the people who used the site to explore a part of their love lives they felt was missing, and the hack that made it all come crashing down.”
Which Celebrities are in the ‘Ashley Madison’ Doc?
Among the most famous names mentioned in the doc is Josh Duggar. After Ashley Madison’s data was exposed, Duggar was revealed to have had two accounts. At the time, he admitted to cheating on his wife, Anna Duggar. They are still married while he serves time in prison for receiving and possessing child pornography.
Snooki‘s husband, Jionni LaValle, was mentioned in the doc, but the spouses denied that he ever signed up for an account. Additionally, Christian YouTube vlogger Sam Rader appeared in the doc with his wife, Nia Rader. He admitted to having an account, but Nia gave him a “second chance,” and they are still together.