The Raders, meanwhile, participated in the Netflix series.
Sam recalled confessing to his wife that he had an Ashley Madison account over lunch at Chili’s at the Dallas Fort Worth airport before they took off for a family-friendly vlogger convention in Seattle.
But he initially lied to both Nia and all their fans when he explained in a YouTube video, his wife by his side, that he had the account but he had otherwise remained faithful.
In reality, he said in the series, “I was keeping a lot of secrets from Nia, and the secrets went a lot deeper than Ashley Madison and a lot further back.”
They temporarily lived apart and went to counseling after the debacle, the parents of four said in the series, and remain together.
“I’m not angry at Ashley Madison, definitely not angry at the hackers,” Sam told Netflix’s Tudum after the series premiered. “I was already on a horrible path when Ashley Madison was advertised to me. Of course, it’s frustrating that they didn’t keep my data safe, but I just see it as the Lord exposing me and bringing [me] out of the darkness.”
Added Nia, “It’s still shocking to me that things like this exist.” But, she noted, “I believe that marriages can be healed. It’s worth fighting to fix your marriage.”