A disastrous hack, CEO's scandal: Revelations from 'The Ashley Madison Affair' docuseries

Ready for a dalliance with “The Ashley Madison Affair”?

The three-part docuseries, now streaming on Hulu, traces the origins of the first dating site for married people.

Launched in 2001, the website aimed to be a space for those who wanted to step out of their marriage to connect discreetly. Male members paid for credits needed to send messages to women who could sign up for free. The site facilitated adultery, and its unapologetic CEO Noel Biderman caused quite the stir; so did its antagonistic advertising. One ad put a photo of Hillary Clinton with the text “New adventures. Start with … AshleyMadison.com” Another showed a wedded couple as zombies going through the motions of marriage. The wife transforms into her former self, only after signing up for Ashley Madison.

“Our approach to creating ads was more for the shock value, and the crazier they were, the better.” Chris DeChamplain, a former employee, says in the docuseries. The company got its own surprise when hackers leaked customers' information in 2015. Here's what to know from the docuseries, including revelations about Biderman’s scandalous personal life.

A supposedly monogamous Biderman seeks escorts

Biderman consistently disputed any criticism of his service. While appearing on Tyra Banks’ talk show, he was introduced to a man whose wife cheated via Ashley Madison. Biderman took no blame and told the guest: “You need to learn to communicate with (your wife) better and find a relationship that works for the two of you. That has nothing to do with me.”

As a guest on a Canadian business-focused show, Biderman claimed his service “saves millions of marriages." He added, "People don’t want to leave their marriage; that’s why they have an affair.”

Biderman and his wife, Amanda, who posed as a model for Ashley Madison ads and was by his side during interviews, claimed they were monogamous. But Biderman’s emails released in the hack showed he had been unfaithful. He expressed interest in escorts and a preference for 18- and 19-year-olds. He resigned as CEO in August 2015.

Hack outs customers seeking discreet affairs

DeChamplain says security for Ashley Madison was too relaxed, but the company didn’t fear being hacked. Just weeks before Biderman's ouster, some staff members received a message from a hacker group self-identified as The Impact Team, threatening to leak customer information if the website wasn’t shut down. Paul Keable, who was Ashley Madison's chief strategy officer, says the there was no thought given to folding the company.

A month later, on August 18, 2015, the hackers followed through on their threat and released customer data including the names of its members. Josh Duggar, formerly a star of TLC's “19 Kids and Counting,” was among them.

So far, the Impact Team has not been identified or faced any consequences.

The removal of bot accounts, and Ashley Madison today

The Ashley Madison business model dictated that the more enticing the women on the website, the greater potential there was for profit. So the company created fake profiles to intrigue their male customers. According to the docuseries, the company added 22,000 female bot accounts in 2013. While subsequent increases in revenue cannot be exclusively attributed to the fake accounts, the company’s revenue went from $71 million in 2012 to $180 million in 2014, the documentary says.

After an investigation by the FTC and a lawsuit by members alleging deceptive business practices, the company brought in Ernst & Young to verify that it had rid the platform of bot accounts. So far, Ashley Madison has survived its controversies and is still in business today. The docuseries says that as of 2021, the website had 75 million members around the globe.

Where is Noel Biderman now?

Sunny Hostin, cohost of ABC's “The View” and a former federal prosecutor, says Biderman is living in Canada and describes his occupation as entrepreneur. His website is equally vague.

According to producers, Biderman declined to comment on his time at Ashley Madison. The docuseries includes a statement from the former CEO’s attorney that describes him as “a committed husband and father. Mr. Biderman was also the victim of a crime, like the customers of Ashley Madison whose public information was hacked and publicized," the statement says. "While Mr. Biderman understands the differences between himself and those customers, he – like many of them – have in the intervening years attempted to move on and repair the damage to his life and relationships."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Ashley Madison Affair' on Hulu: The documentary's biggest revelations