A FORMER worker at Ashley Madison today exposed the sordid secrets of life at the infidelity website.
In an exclusive chat with The Sun, insider Sarah Symonds shared damning details from behind the scenes at the scandalous firm.
She spoke out as viewers are gripped by a new Netflix series ‘Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal’ examining the 2015 leak which exposed millions of illicit relationships.
The firm’s former publicist claims then chief executive Noel Biderman demanded she go on dates with married men, adding: “It made me feel horrible.”
She said: “I was confused because I was meant to be spokeswoman for the company, not in this murky area.
“He wanted me to set up bogus profiles. It was being talked about a lot, although I refused to help.
“Noel asked me to go on dates, under fake names. I found the whole thing sleazy and tawdry.
“I felt his attitude towards women was terrible.”
Sarah claims she was reduced to tears on several occasions while working at the firm and was told that if she didn’t like the work she “was replaceable.”
Sarah, who now lives in Newport, Wales, looking after her elderly parents, told The Sun: “The Netflix show has opened old sores.
“Noel asked me to go on dates, under fake names. I found the whole thing sleazy and tawdry
Sarah Symonds
“The company was a contradiction: they told me they came up with the name ‘Ashley Madison’ because they were the two most popular children’s names at the time.
“Biderman’s whole mantra was to get men to sign up and get them to cheat, without thought for the consequences to families and kids.
“He always had an answer as to how his site was ‘providing a service.’
“It was a horrible experience I am trying to forget.”
She was approached in 2007 to represent the Canadian company as they spread across the US and UK, becoming the mega global site where clandestine cheats could arrange sex outside marriage.
In 2015, before the damaging hacking scandal, it boasted 37 million users across 40 countries.
Sarah was approached by Biderman after appearing on Oprah Winfrey and other US talk shows to promote her racy book, ‘Having An Affair? A handbook for the Other Woman’.
Ashley Madison sparked a furore with its shocking message that affairs could save marriages.
Sarah said: “They were putting up billboards at $10k a pop on Sunset Boulevard and across America.
“The advertising slogan was ‘Life Is Short, Have an Affair’, and came with a sexy woman pictured making a ‘shh!’ sign.
“It was exciting, sleek and daring. A new daredevil company for a new century.
“But when I went to their hub in Toronto I was so disappointed. Noel had a grubby little office with no windows. It was underwhelming.
“Behind the scenes the set up was sparse and cheap, and very male orientated.
“It was a vivid contrast with the adverts suggesting attractive, open-minded, beautiful women were signed up to the company.”
Sarah moved back to the UK early in 2008 as part of the firm’s expansion.
And she was sent by the company to meet now disgraced PR guru Max Clifford– leading to a traumatic episode in her life.
Ashley Madison hacking scandal explained
Netflix smash ‘Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal’ tells how hackers told the firm to take down its site or its user base would be leaked to the public.
When they didn’t back down, celebrities, politicians, and other high-profile figures were exposed having accounts – sparking devastating consequences for thousands of relationships and leaving some members suicidal.
In 2015, at the centre of the hacking storm, The Sun reported claims by analysts that the site was not what it seemed.
Figures showed that 31 million men registered to the online hook-up service were men and just 5.5 million were women.
The Sun also revealed that 700,000 British men seeking a fling on the Ashley Madison affair site were chasing just 31 UK-based women.
She said: “It took guts to do what I was doing because I was promoting an infidelity website, off my own back.
“Noel wanted me to find a UK PR company and so I met Max.
“Max wanted £15,000 a month from Ashley Madison to support them – and manipulated me by saying he would also help me promote my book.”
The negotiations led to Sarah visiting the PR man’s London offices for several business meetings.
At the end of one, she was “persuaded to be intimate” with him in a toilet .
In 2014 Clifford was jailed for eight years after being convicted of a string of sex offences.
Sarah said of disgraced Max, who died in 2017: “After being propositioned the thing that would shock – and sicken – me the most, was when I found out Max’s casting couch would turn out to be his toilet cubicle. That is something I can’t ever forget.”
But the turmoil was only just beginning for Sarah, now 53. Later in 2008, her affair with chef Gordon Ramsay was exposed.
Sarah went on: “It was chaotic and unpleasant. Noel announced I had been fired for being ‘indiscreet’. It was a farce.”
Netflix smash ‘Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal’ tells how hackers told the firm to take down its site or its user base would be leaked to the public.
When they didn’t back down, celebrities, politicians, and other high-profile figures were exposed having accounts – sparking devastating consequences for thousands of relationships and leaving some members suicidal.
In 2015, at the centre of the hacking storm, The Sun reported claims by analysts that the site was not what it seemed.
Figures showed that 31 million men registered to the online hook-up service were men and just 5.5 million were women.
The Sun also revealed that 700,000 British men seeking a fling on the Ashley Madison affair site were chasing just 31 UK-based women.
A former employee of Ashley Madison – not Sarah Symonds – sued the company in Canada over her terrible work conditions.
She claimed that she suffered repetitive stress injuries in her hands after the company hired her to create 1,000 fake Portuguese profiles of women over three months in an effort to attract Brazilian clients.
The case was settled out of court, although Ashley Madison rejected claims she made any fake profiles.
Following the leak, father-of-two Biderman stepped down.
Last year, following another TV show on Ashley Madison, his lawyer said: “Mr Biderman was also the victim of a crime, like the customers of Ashley Madison whose public information was hacked and publicised.
“While Mr Biderman understands the differences between himself and those customers, he – like many of them – have, in the intervening years, attempted to move on and repair the damage to his life and relationships.
“He feels fortunate that his wife, Amanda, has stood by him throughout.”
The Ashley Madison website remains operational today and has even experienced a resurgence in popularity.
Christoph Kraemer, managing director Europe, Ashley Madison told The Sun last night: “The recent documentaries on our business have been a great moment to reflect on how far our business has progressed.
“Regardless of our past, with more than 50 million members joining since 2015 it is clear we’ve matured as a business and are delivering on a need in society.”
Noel Biderman was also contacted for comment.
