In theory, the internet promised, among other things, a solution to the age-old conundrum of finding a date. If you wanted romantic partnership, maybe you’d check out eHarmony. For fun and flings, try Tinder. If you wanted to narrow down the potential pool, there were Farmers Only and Christian Mingle, among other demographic-specific sites. And if you were married and wanted to have a clandestine affair, you could make an account on Ashley Madison.
At least, that was the pitch. From its founding in 2002 until the summer of 2015, Ashley Madison, so-called for the two most popular girls names, billed itself as the premier destination for adulterers – no judgment, no risks, no strings attached other than the payments required to secure enough “credits” to talk to other users. The Toronto-based company, founded by Darren Morgenstern based on a statistic that 30% of people on existing dating sites were already married, promised a certain fantasy, particularly aimed at men: a list of women ready and willing to have an affair; a secret good time outside the bounds of one’s partnership; self-proclaimed extensive security measures to prevent torpedoing one’s domestic life. The company’s CEO, a Canadian businessman named Noel Biderman, appeared on news programs and daytime talkshows with his wife, touting the site as a way to resuscitate partnerships by covertly meeting one’s extramarital needs while boasting of his own monogamous marriage. The site’s tagline was simple and cheeky: “Life is short. Have an affair.” And it was popular – by 2015, the company had launched in 40 countries and claimed more than 37 million users.
