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First celebrity appears to be named in Ashley Madison leak

THE first celebrity to be burned by the Ashley Madison leak has been identified, leading to a grovelling apology.

Ashley Madison Logo
Ashley Madison Logo

THE first celebrity to be burned by the Ashley Madison leak has been identified, leading him to issue a grovelling apology.

Embattled former US reality TV star and conservative activist Josh Duggar has confirmed he used the extramarital cheating site Ashley Madison to engage in an affair, just over one month since the birth of his fourth child, Meredith Grace.

He and his wife Anna are due to celebrate their seventh wedding anniversary on September 26.

In a statement released overnight, he wrote:

“I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have been unfaithful to my wife.

“I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in him.

“I have brought hurt and a reproach to my family, close friends and the fans of our show with my actions.

“The last few years, while publicly stating I was fighting against immorality in our country I was hiding my own personal failures.

“As I am learning the hard way, we have the freedom to choose our actions, but we do not get to choose our consequences. I deeply regret all the hurt I have caused so many by being such a bad example.

“I humbly ask for your forgiveness. Please pray for my precious wife Anna and our family during this time.”

Interestingly, a line appears to have been removed from the statement soon after the family posted it online. Gawker reports the original version read: “I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife.”

The original press statement, including a line about Duggar’s pornography addiction.
The original press statement, including a line about Duggar’s pornography addiction.

Earlier, credit card leaks revealed Duggar had paid US$1,000 for an “affair guarantee” under the username ready4thisdc.

According to an investigation by Gawker, Duggar, the eldest son in 19 Kids and Counting, which followed the Duggar’s large Christian family in their day-to-day lives, paid for two separate accounts from February 2013 until May 2015.

“Do you have a spark?” reads the alleged profile.

“Let’s just see where this goes! I’m looking to have a steamy affair. I want to have a good time with someone who is passionate ... and see where it leads!”

Around the same time he paid for the “affair guarantee”, in July 2014, he was rallying against abortion at the Supreme Court in Washington D.C, and calling for religious freedom.

The account was paid monthly up until May 2015, just before news broke of a police report that revealed he had molested five little girls in 2002; four of whom were his own sisters. The family’s reality show was cancelled soon after the allegations surfaced.

In the same time frame, Duggar was director of the Family Research Council, a conservative lobbying group which says it champions “marriage and family as the foundation of civilisation, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society.”

It openly opposes divorce, abortion and same-sex marriage.

After the molestation allegations surfaced, Duggar resigned from that position and the family went on a media blitz of epic proportions, claiming Josh had reformed.

“We pray that as people watch our lives they see that we are not a perfect family,” parents Jim Bob and Michelle wrote in a statement at the time.

“We have challenges and struggles everyday. It is one of the reasons we treasure our faith so much because God’s kindness and goodness and forgiveness are extended to us — even though we are so undeserving.”

It seems Josh was hiding another skeleton in his closet, albeit a less serious one, the whole time. Data from a credit card belonging to a “Joshua J Duggar” seems to prove that. The billing address for the first account matches the home of Duggar’s grandmother in Fayateville, Arkansas, where his wife Anna gave birth to their first child. The second account matches his home in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

According to his profile, Duggar was looking for an “extramarital partner” for “Conventional Sex, Experimenting with Sex Toys, One-Night Stands, Gentleness, Sensual Massage, Extended Foreplay/Teasing, Bubble Bath for 2, Someone Who Can Teach Me, Kissing, Cuddling & Hugging, Sharing Fantasies and Sex Talk”.

The woman needed to be “stylish, petite with natural breasts” who is “good with your hands” and “likes to give and receive oral sex”.

Were you burned by the Ashley Madison leak? Email youngma@news.com.au

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/hacking/first-celebrity-appears-to-be-named-in-ashley-madison-leak/news-story/197c19bf742e6f9ee5aa2aff52d6f578