A FORMER employee at Ashley Madison today exposed the horrific secrets of life on the infidelity website.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, insider Sarah Symonds shared damning details behind the scenes of the scandalous company.
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Ashley Madison insider Sarah Symonds talks exclusively to The Sun about life working for the infidelity website
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Ashley Madison boasted 37 million users in 40 countries at its peak before the hack Credit: Shutterstock
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Ashley Madison CEO Noel Biderman claimed the site ‘saved marriages’ but was accused of asking Sarah Symonds to go on dates with married men Credit: Getty Images – Getty
She spoke as viewers are engrossed in new Netflix series ‘Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal’ which examines the 2015 leaks that exposed millions of illicit relationships.
A former publicist for the company claims that then-CEO Noel Biderman required her to go on dates with married men, adding “It made me feel terrible.”
She said: “I was confused because I was supposed to be a spokesperson for the company and not in this dark area.
“He wanted me to set up fake profiles. There was a lot of talk about it, although I refused to help.
Read more about Ashley Madison
“Noel asked me to go on dates, under fake names. I found the whole thing sleazy and pointless.
“I felt his attitude towards women was terrible.”
Sarah claims she was reduced to tears on several occasions while working at the company and was told she was “replaceable” if she didn’t like the job.
Sarah, who now lives in Newport, Wales, looking after her elderly parents, told The Sun: “The Netflix series opened up old wounds.
“The company was contradictory: they told me they came up with the name ‘Ashley Madison’ because those were the two most popular names for children at the time.
“Biderman’s whole mantra was to get men to sign up and get them to cheat, without thinking about the consequences for families and children.
Ashley Madison, Sex, Lies and Scandal
“He always had an answer to how his site ‘provides a service.’
“It was a horrible experience that I’m trying to forget.”
Noel asked me to go on dates, under fake names. I found the whole thing sleazy and pointless
Sarah Symonds Author
She was approached in 2007 to represent the Canadian company as they expanded into the US and UK, becoming a mega global site where undercover cheaters could arrange sex outside of marriage.
In 2015, before the damaging hacking scandal, it had 37 million users in 40 countries.
The Ashley Madison Hacking Scandal Explained
The Netflix hit ‘Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal’ is about how hackers told the company to take down its site or its user base would be leaked.
When they didn’t withdraw, celebrities, politicians and other high-profile figures were exposed as having the accounts – causing devastating consequences for thousands of relationships and leaving some members suicidal.
In 2015, at the center of the hacking storm, The Sun reported on analyst claims that the site was not what it seemed.
The figures showed that 31 million men registered on the online matchmaking service were men and only 5.5 million were women.
The Sun also revealed that the 700,000 British men who sought love on the Ashley Madison affair site pursued just 31 women living in the UK.
Biderman approached Sarah after appearing on Oprah Winfrey and other US talk shows to promote her lavish book ‘Having An Affair? Handbook for the Second Woman’.
Ashley Madison caused a storm with her shocking message that affairs can save marriages.
Biderman’s whole mantra was to get men to sign up and trick them into cheating, without thinking about the consequences for families and children
Sarah Symonds Author
Sarah said, “They were putting up $10,000 posters on Sunset Boulevard and all over America.
“The advertising slogan was ‘Life is short, have an affair’, and it came with a sexy woman in the picture saying ‘psst!’ sign.
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Ashley Madison insider Sarah Symonds said it was a ‘terrible experience that I’m trying to forget’Credit: Alpha Press
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Ashley Madison put up $10,000 billboards all over AmericaCredit: Getty – Contributor
“It was exciting, polished and bold. A bold new company for the new century.
“But when I went to their center in Toronto, I was so disappointed. Noel had a dirty little windowless office. It was overwhelming.
They put up billboards at a price of 10 thousand dollars on Sunset Boulevard and all over America
Sarah Symonds Author
“Behind the scenes, the set-up was sparse and cheap, and very male-oriented.
“It was a stark contrast to the ads that suggested attractive, outgoing, beautiful women were signed to the company.”
THE WAY HOME
Sarah returned to the UK in early 2008 as part of the company’s expansion.
And the company sent her to meet now-disgraced PR guru Max Clifford – leading to a traumatic episode in her life.
She said: “It took courage for me to do what I did because I was promoting a website about infidelity, off my back.
“Noel wanted me to find a British PR company and that’s how I met Max.
Behind the scenes, the setup was rare and cheap, and very male-oriented
Sarah Symonds Author
“Max demanded £15,000 a month from Ashley Madison to support them – and manipulated me into saying he would also help promote my book.”
Negotiations led to Sarah visiting PR’s London office for several business meetings.
At the end of one, she was “coaxed into intimacy” with him in the toilet.
In 2014, Clifford was sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of a series of sexual offences.
It was a horrible experience that I am trying to forget
Sarah Symonds Author
Sarah said of the disgraced Max, who died in 2017: “After I was whitewashed, the thing that shocked me the most – and tormented me – was when I found out that Max’s cast couch was going to turn out to be his toilet cubicle. It’s something I can never forget.”
But the turmoil was just beginning for Sarah, now 53. Later in 2008, her affair with chef Gordon Ramsay was exposed.
Sarah continued: “It was chaotic and awkward. Noel announced that I had been fired for ‘indiscretion’. It was a farce.”
DATA BREACH
The Netflix hit ‘Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal’ is about how hackers told the company to take down its site or its user base would be leaked.
When they didn’t withdraw, celebrities, politicians and other high-profile figures were exposed as having the accounts – causing devastating consequences for thousands of relationships and leaving some members suicidal.
In 2015, at the center of the hacking storm, The Sun reported on analyst claims that the site was not what it seemed.
The figures showed that 31 million men registered on the online matchmaking service were men and only 5.5 million were women.
The Sun also revealed that the 700,000 British men who sought love on the Ashley Madison affair site pursued just 31 women living in the UK.
While Mr. Biderman understands the differences between himself and those customers, he — like many of them — has tried to move on and repair the damage in his life and relationships in the years since.
Mr. Biderman’s lawyer
A former employee of Ashley Madison – not Sarah Symonds – sued the company in Canada over its appalling working conditions.
She claimed she suffered repetitive stress injuries to her hands after the company hired her to create 1,000 fake Portuguese profiles of women over three months to attract Brazilian clients.
The case was settled out of court, although Ashley Madison denied claims that it created fake profiles.
After the information was leaked, Biderman, the father of two children, resigned.
Last year, after another TV show about Ashley Madison, his lawyer said: “Mr. Biderman was also a victim of a crime, like the Ashley Madison customers whose public information was hacked and published.
“While Mr. Biderman understands the differences between himself and those customers, he – like many of them – has tried to move on in the years since and repair the damage done to his life and relationships.
“He’s lucky that his wife Amanda was by his side the whole time.”
Regardless of our past, with more than 50 million members who have joined since 2015, it is clear that we have matured as a company and are meeting the needs of society.
Christoph Kraemer, Director for Europe
The Ashley Madison website is still functional today and has even seen a resurgence in popularity.
Christoph Kraemer, managing director for Europe, told The Sun last night: “The recent documentaries about our business were a great moment to reflect on how far our business has come.
“Regardless of our past, with more than 50 million members joining since 2015, it’s clear that we’ve matured as a company and are meeting society’s needs.”
We also contacted Noel Biderman for comment.
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John Gibson, pictured with wife Christie, took his own life after his name was one of 32 million leaked from Ashley Madison during a 2015 cyber attack.
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Noel Biderman with presenter Lorraine Kelly on Lorraine Live in September 2011. Credit: Rex
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