WITH the promise of “complete discretion”, the Ashley Madison website provided a service for people seeking to have an affair.
However, when the site was hacked the lives of millions of couples around the world were changed forever – including famous YouTubers Sam & Nia.
Who are Youtubers Sam & Nia?
Former emergency room nurse Sam Rader, from Dallas, Texas, was just 24 when he married his 20-year-old childhood sweetheart Nia in 2009.
The couple then went on have four children, and to the outside world they appeared to have the perfect family life.
The pair became YouTube stars after a cute video of them lip-syncing to a hit Frozen song went viral on the internet in 2014.
It inspired them to set up a parenting vlog based on their home life and Christian values.
After Sam posted a video of him surprising Nia with her own positive pregnancy test in 2015 they gained millions of followers.
However, their lives changed forever when just seven days later the extramarital affair website Ashley Madison was hacked.
Little did Nia know, Sam was a member.
What happened to Sam & Nia in Netflix’s Ashley Madison dating documentary?
Both Sam & Nia took part in Netflix’s Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal documentary to tell their side of the story.
It came after Sam was revealed to be a member of the website after hackers exposed details of everyone who had signed up – which also included their sexual fantasises.
In the doc, Nia’s husband revealed how he signed up as he had become “disillusioned” by married life.
On a break from his night shift at the hospital, Sam saw the infamous line in an Ashley Madison advert: “Life is short. Have an affair.”
He said: “I wanted more of the good stuff that life had to give. So I signed up because it sounded like they had the answer.
“I signed up with all my real information which obviously was a stupid decision.
“It was a lot to face in a moment. I started reeling inside. I felt like my world was crumbling.
Nia Rader
“I used real pictures of myself and a few photos of my face on there.”
“When I signed up for Ashley Madison I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life.”
After Sam was outed by the Ashley Madison hackers, he went on to admit to his wife he had also visited strip clubs and massage parlours.
Speaking about her reaction, Nia told Netflix: “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.”.
However, Sam and Nia eventually decided their marriage was worth saving.
They continue to vlog and keep fans up-to-date with their home life after rebuilding their relationship.
They have been very open and honest with fans about Sam’s indiscretions, and how they have moved on from them.
How to watch Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal
Netflix documentary Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal chronicles the rise and fall of the adultery site.
It looks at the effect the security breach had on families across the globe.
The documentary dropped on May 15, 2024, which means you can stream all three episodes right now.
Ashley Madison scandal explained
Ashley Madison members were the focus of a HUGE scandal after they signed up for an affair.
Here we take a look at that scandal as it un folded:
Ashley Madison was founded in 2001 by Canadian Darren Morgen-stern.
It’s members were assured of total discretion and promised a dream of being able to spice up their sex lives with a bit on the side – without their spouses finding out.
The extramarital affair dating site had millions and millions of subscribers worldwide.
But a cyber attack in July 2015 exposed the identities of three million users — and they were left fearing the sexual fantasies they had shared on the site would be leaked too.
The fallout was immeasurable, with the names and addresses of politicians and celebrities as well as ordinary folk spread across the internet.
Marriages were destroyed, people lost their jobs and at least two individuals took their own lives.
Despite the company offering a $500,000 reward and a huge cyber and police investigation, the hackers were never uncovered.
But far from crushing the Ashley Madison empire, the data leak actually boosted its popularity and the site now boasts around 70million members.