The first notable name to emerge from the hack attack of the adultery aid website Ashley Madison is none other than Josh Duggar, the former reality television celebrity whose star fell after it was revealed he molested his sisters when he was in his early teens.
After his name was released, Duggar reportedly admitted to cheating on his wife, Anna, who gave birth to his fourth child in June.
Duggar came to national attention for his performance on the reality series “19 Kids and Counting” on TLC. He used to work as executive director of Family Research Council Action, the lobbying division of the traditional family advocacy organization, Family Research Council, but resigned when his molestation scandal came to light, as WND previously reported.
In a statement posted on the Duggar family’s official website, Josh wrote:
“I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, 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 Huffington Post reported that the reference to the Internet pornography addiction was later removed.
Meanwhile, the Daily Caller reported Duggar may have had a fake Facebook page where he friended strippers and lingerie models in Arkansas, where Josh lived before moving to Washington, D.C. Other sites questioned whether he also had an account on another dating site, OkCupid.
“I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved [sic] 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,” Josh wrote.
He said he “deeply regrets all the hurt [he’s] caused by being such a bad example” and asked for forgiveness.
Josh’s parents wrote, “When we learned of this late last night, our hearts were broken. As we continue to place our trust in God, we ask for your prayers for Josh, Anna, our grandchildren and our entire family.”
Earlier Thursday, it was revealed that his name, email address and home address were among the listing of paid subscribers to the Ashley Madison site, the company with a mission to unite would-be adulterers for secret flings. The site was just hacked, and many have been on pins and needles, waiting for the promised list of subscribers to be published.
Duggar’s name is listed as purchasing two subscriptions for the total cost of $986 between February 2013 and May 2015, while he was still working at the Christian-based FRC, New York Magazine said. The billing address on the site not only matches with his former home in Maryland, but with one owned by his grandmother in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
