Husband explains why he signed up for controversial Ashley Madison affair site before his secret life was exposed

The latest Netflix documentary to hit our screens has shed light on one of the biggest cyber scandals of the 2010s.

Ashley Madison was a dating website that specifically targeted married individuals, assuring them of total secrecy, allowing them to spice up their sex lives without letting their spouses find out.

They lured users in with the catchline: "Life is short. Have an affair."

It sounds ridiculous, but it got millions of unsatisfied husbands and wives to sign up to the site.

The Netflix mini-series, titled Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal, explores the effects of the cyber attack on the website in 2015, exposing three million users, who also worried that their interactions on the site would be revealed too.

It was an unprecedented occurrence, with names and addresses of well-known celebrities and politicians out in the open for the public to see, in addition to everyday Joes.

Numerous marriages were destroyed and several people lost their jobs following the data being leaked to the public, with at least two people committing suicide due to it.

John Gibson features in the documentary as his wife talks about his involvement with the site and how she would have forgave him if he hadn't taken his own life.

However, the story of Sam Rader is also mentioned during the series, a man who ventured onto the site despite having four children with his childhood sweetheart.

Sam Rader was one of the men who had his information leaked, and his relationship was jeopardised as a result.(Netflix)

The father-of-four originally from Texas, USA was an emergency room nurse and insists that he didn't hate his life.

He explained in the series: “I loved being a dad. I loved my children, crazy about them. It was a beautiful life but it was also just like this sudden inundation of responsibilities.

“So much responsibility. I wasn’t ready for it. Paying bills, keeping up with our finances, not getting in debt. Making sure the mortgage got paid. Make sure the electric bill didn’t go off like when I was a kid,” he said.

Sam revealed that his life 'wasn't exciting anymore' and wanted 'that kind of passionate romantic love', as his life didn't match the picture of love that he saw in movies.

“I didn’t want to leave my family, but I wanted something exciting in my life.”

Sam saw an advert for the website during a night shift at the hospital with the infamous catch phrase, saying that the website seemed to have 'the answer' to his problems.

Admitting it was a mistake to sign up with his real information and photos, which included a topless pic, he said: “When I signed up for Ashley Madison I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life.”

To everyone in the outside world, Sam and his wife Nia had the perfect family life, even running a parenting vlog channel that covered their home life and Christian values.

Several viral videos of theirs did the rounds, such as a lip-sync to a Frozen song and a pregnancy surprise video.

Sam's wife, Nia, said it was a lot to deal with, but they rallied past it. (Netflix)

But in July 2015, hackers threatened to leak information if the site wasn't shut down in 30 days, which the Ashley Madison team failed to do, resulting in the infamous hack by a cyber criminals team called the Impact Team.

Sam knew he was in trouble, and that his marriage would be on the line if his wife found the list, as he and 3.2 million others were left between a rock and a hard place.

He firstly denied meeting any women through Ashley Madison, but was eventually forced to admit to his wife that was just one thing he had been doing behind her back - as he went to strip clubs and massage parlours as well.

Sam explained: “Those were easy access to that pleasure that I wanted more of. I thought having sex outside of marriage would be exciting.”

Nia said: “It was a lot to face in a moment. I started reeling inside. I felt like my world was crumbling.

“Every single aspect of my life up to this point felt like a lie. Everything that we have dreamed about — our wedding day, the day we met, these moments that felt like time stood still for us — suddenly . . . it was just over,” she claimed.

However, Nia also stated that 'marriages can be healed' and that 'it's worth fighting', with the couple still being together today as one of the rare cases of couples surviving the Ashley Madison leak.

Topics: Netflix, Sex and Relationships, TV and Film, Documentaries, Technology

Joshua Nair

Joshua Nair is a journalist at LADbible. Born in Malaysia and raised in Dubai, he has always been interested in writing about a range of subjects, from sports to trending pop culture news. After graduating from Oxford Brookes University with a BA in Media, Journalism and Publishing, he got a job freelance writing for SPORTbible while working in marketing before landing a full-time role at LADbible. Unfortunately, he's unhealthily obsessed with Manchester United, which takes its toll on his mental and physical health. Daily.

@joshnair10