Netflix explores the meteoric rise of Ashley Madison and its destructive fall in the new docuseries Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal. The three-episode event follows various figures associated with the site for people looking to have an affair. When names of those with Ashley Madison accounts were exposed in a data leak in 2015, lives were turned upside down.
In a rare interview outside of their YouTube channel, Christian vloggers Sam and Nia Rader open up about the Ashley Madison scandal and how it affected their marriage. Are they still together in the wake of what happened? Below, you’ll get all the answers.
Why did Sam Rader sign up for Ashley Madison?
In the doc, Sam says he wasn’t looking to leave his family, but he wanted “something exciting” in his life. He worked as a nightshift ER nurse and saw an advertisement for Ashley Madison online. He signed up and paid for elite membership, which included extra features and gave him a list of women in the Dallas area who wanted to cheat.
“I wasn’t actually out to have sex, I don’t think,” he admits. “I don’t know what I was out for, to be honest. I wanted attention, I wanted something exciting, but I wasn’t crazy horny. My wife was satisfying me.”
Sam reveals that “constantly lying to Nia” was “really hard” for him. He explains that he was seeking “validation through other women” on Ashley Madison.
Sam and Nia’s life together changed when a video of them lip-syncing “Love Is an Open Door” from Frozen in the car went viral. After the success of the video, they started vlogging regularly.
“At that point, I started enjoying my life again,” Sam says. “It just brought an excitement to my life that I may have been seeking signing up for Ashley Madison. The infidelity desires just stopped and during that period of time, I deleted Ashley Madison.”
How did Nia react when she found out Sam’s secret?
Users of Ashley Madison, like Sam, were exposed after a hack and subsequent data leak in 2015. Despite deleting his account, his information was still linked to Ashley Madison. He eventually confessed his mistake to Nia.
In her interview, Nia says she was “just angry right away” about Sam’s “selfish decision.” After his confession, Nia started questioning Sam, and he told her that he never met with a single person and never cheated on her. “I kind of like latched onto that, but I still felt betrayed,” Nia says.
Soon, articles started coming out about him being part of the leak, which only exacerbated Sam’s betrayal. “I just felt so humiliated. I just felt this sense of like all eyes on us,” Nia admits.
Sam and Nia made a video addressing the Ashley Madison scandal. “The aim was to put an end to it and be done and continue our lives as it was before it came out. And I would say it was pretty effective in doing that,” Sam explains.
However, Sam says that the entire video was “phony” and “pretty much all lies.” He adds, “I knew what I was doing. I kept ignoring it. Nia had forgiven me, for sure, right in that moment. But Nia had no idea what she was actually going to have to forgive.”
Netflix
Turns out, Sam had even more secrets, ones that extended beyond Ashley Madison. For years, Sam had betrayed Nia and “acted out” during their marriage. “I was flirting with various people that were kind of acquaintances to us. Two emotional relationships that I had. I was cheating on my wife with these people,” Sam confesses.
Of all Sam’s secrets, the “emotional betrayals” hurt Nia the most. “I did come on to a couple of her friends who didn’t reciprocate,” Sam reveals. One of Nia’s friends cut off contact after Sam pursued her.
Are Sam and Nia still together?
After Nia learned the truth, the couple decided that it was best for Sam to move out of the house for a period of time. “I needed space. I just couldn’t be in the same room with him,” Nia says. Initially, Nia says that she “did not want to reconcile. At that point, I felt like it was over.”
In the third episode of the docuseries, Sam and Nia finally sit down together. They are still married after the Ashley Madison scandal.
“She decided she would give me a second chance,” Sam says in their joint interview. “Falling deeply in love is beautiful. But I’ve learned continuing to be deeply in love takes work. There’s a lot of things I really do regret, but I don’t regret, you know, the hack. It had to happen for where we’re at today.”
Nia adds, “What Sam did and what we walked through has left a mark. It’s left a permanent mark, but I’m thankful for it. It’s kind of like a starting point for us on how we’ll live the rest of our marriage.”
Sam and Nia have four children together: Symphony, Abram, Juliet, and Josie. They still vlog and post videos on their YouTube channel. They have over 2.5 million subscribers.
Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal, Streaming Now, Netflix
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