What is Ashley Madison?
Number of sign-ups has skyrocketed during COVID-19 pandemic
Ashley Madison is an online dating service for people looking to cheat on their spouses or otherwise interested in hooking up with married people.
The cheating website, which boasts the ability to help couples find “a discreet connection,” uses the slogan: “Life is Short. Have an affair.”
The company has boasted 17,000 new members a day during the novel coronavirus pandemic, which is a spike from the 15,500 daily customer additions in 2019, according to a Venture Beat report from March.
CORONAVIRUS MANDATES LEAD TO ASHLEY MADISON MEMBERSHIP SURGE
(AshleyMadison.com)
The surge can be attributed, at least in part, to the COVID-19 lockdown, which has left spouses stuck at home with their significant others and seeking “an outlet” from their daily relationship stress, Paul Keable, chief strategy officer for Ashley Madison, told the Venture Beat at the time.
MILLIONAIRE DATING IN CORONAVIRUS: DATING APP FOR WEALTHY SEES INCREASE IN FAKE PROFILES
Ashley Madison received roughly 5.6 million new clients in 2019, to make 65 million members, he said.
“We often hear from our members that they love their spouses, they love their families and the situation they’re in, but there’s something missing,” Keable told the outlet. “We’re traditionally told to either suck it up and live without the thing that you want or get a divorce and give up everything you want in search of just one thing. We’re creating a third path for people."
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Such success did not seem possible just years ago, when Ashley Madison was hacked in July 2015.
Hackers infiltrated Ashley Madison’s website and downloaded private information belonging to its estimated 37 million customers. The details, including names, emails, home addresses, financial data and message history, were later posted online.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.