A Complete Guide to Josh Duggar’s Ashley Madison Scandal
Josh Duggar almost singlehandedly brought down Jim Bob Duggar’s media empire in 2015 when it was revealed he molested several of his sisters. In 2021 he successfully toppled the family’s brand when he was arrested for possessing and receiving child pornography. Between his two sex crimes, there was another moral failing. Josh Duggar’s name was released during the Ashley Madison data breach scandal. The ultra-conservative Christian son of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar was cheating on his wife. Just a month after the release of Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, Josh Duggar’s cheating scandal is being rehashed in The Ashley Madison Affair. We’ve collected all of the detail of his cheating scandal.
What is the Ashley Madison scandal?
In 2015, the discreet affair website, Ashley Madison, was hacked. An anonymous hacker group, The Impact Team, hacked into the website in July 2015 and collected user data. According to Hacker Combat, They gave Avid Life Media, the company that owns Ashley Madison, 30 days to shut down the website or risk having user data leaked to the public.
In August 2015, The Impact Team made good on its threat and published the names and email addresses of some Ashley Madison users. Additional data dumps were released throughout August 2015 and led to the resignation of Avid Life Media CEO Noel Biderman. Government and military officials, reality stars, and other famous faces were exposed in the leak. Josh Duggar’s email address appeared in the leak.
Josh Duggar appeared in one of the releases
Jim Bob and Michelle’s oldest son’s name appeared in one of the data releases published in August 2015. The data dump that included Josh was one of the largest and included a lot of information about each user. Duggar family followers learned that Josh had not one but two Ashley Madison accounts. One was created in 2013, while the other was set up in 2015.
According to data obtained by the hackers, Josh spent more than $1000 on the service over the years and even paid up for an “affair guarantee” at one point. Josh created his first account when he and his wife first moved to the Washington, D.C., area. . Details of the dastardly Duggar’s profile were also made public. According to CNN, Josh’s profile stated he was interested in “professional, confident women.” He was searching for affair partners who could host and was looking for one-night stands. Josh also stated he was interested in the use of sex toys. Following the molestation and cheating scandals, Josh resigned from his job and entered a faith-based rehab center. He said he was dealing with a pornography addiction. Anna Duggar packed up and headed back to Arkansas but stood by her husband.
Josh Duggar had multiple dating profiles and had at least one physical affair
Josh Duggar’s two Ashley Madison accounts weren’t his only extramarital activity. He was willing to branch out to other dating sites to find what he was looking for. Josh also had an OkCupid account. For his OkCupid profile, the then-lobbyist used the photo of a male model. Josh was later sued by the man in the picture, but the lawsuit was thrown out. His OkCupid profile paints a haunting portrait of the type of man Josh was at the time.
He didn’t stick to just online dating, though. The married father reportedly met an adult dancer during the same timeframe and paid her for sex. The dancer in question, Danica Dillon, has spoken openly about her unsettling experience with the convicted sexual predator.
Several years later, Josh Duggar was at the center of the biggest Duggar family scandal to date
While Josh and his wife, Anna Duggar, worked through his cheating scandal, things would eventually get felonious for the eldest Duggar son. In April 2021, Josh and Anna announced they were pregnant with their seventh child. A week after the announcement, federal marshals arrested Josh Duggar for possessing and receiving child pornography. The arrest came more than a year after federal agents raided a car lot owned by Josh.
Josh was found guilty in December 2021 and sentenced to over a decade behind bars. He is being held at FCI Seagoville and will not be allowed to access the internet upon his release in 2032. Anna Duggar remains married to her troubled husband.
To learn more about the Ashley Madison scandal, tune into Hulu. The Ashley Madison Affair is now streaming.
