CHEATING WEBSITE SAVES MARRIAGES?

I'm sure some of you have heard of this website, AshleyMadison.com. For those of you who haven't, it's a dating site for cheaters, or better yet, married people looking to have an affair. Well, the husband and wife team behind AshleyMadison.com, Noel and Amanda Biderman, are insisting that their site can help save marriages. Are they kidding? According to Noel Biderman, "Cheating provides people with an alternative to divorce. They find themselves in a sexless marriage; they're caught between a rock and a hard place. For many, infidelity becomes that life preserver. It allows them to stay in a marriage, and focus on raising kids together, while pursuing something on the side." That something on the side can be found on AshleyMadison.com, a $90 million dollar business with 18 million clients. What the hell? So, there are 18 million cheaters in the world? I'm not here to put cheaters down, but 18 million? Come on, seriously? Why even get married? 

Members use the dating site to seek discreet relationships outside their marriage. Their tagline is "Life if short. Have an affair." Now, although, they run an extra-marital affairs website, the Biderman's don't really practice what they preach because they're a monogamous couple, and despite her strong stance against infidelity, Amanda Biderman is the face of the company's advertising. She says, "Cheating is destructive in a relationship, absolutely devastating, but we have found there are situations where it has helped convince somebody to stay with somebody, or help someone have an outlet where they can be happy in their life." So, this is a woman who is against infidelity, but she agreed that it can help someone have a happier life? How can she be strongly against cheating if she is okay with it? Am I the only one who thinks that running a cheating website as a married couple can mess with your head as a couple as far as insecurities? I mean, I guess if you trust your wife or husband, you trust them, but there has to be some degree where you wonder, right? 

Mrs. Biderman went on to say that she hopes the ads make it easier for couples to talk about cheating. She said, "All I'm saying is that if you bring the conversation front and center, then maybe it's not as big. It can be broken down and you can know how to address it." So, what she's saying is by using their website, you can let your other half know that you want to cheat and take it from there? This is so confusing! Cheating is about doing it behind your wife or husband's back, not telling them that you’re going to. Otherwise, what's the point? Just tell them you want to be single and file for a divorce. 

Like I said earlier, the couple doesn't practice what they preach on their site, as Amanda states, "I would be devastated if Noel cheated on me, but I would not blame a website. AshleyMadison.com is not creating cheaters. It's servicing a need out there. And unfortunately, it exists. It's sad."  Well, I agree with her there. You can't be mad at the Biderman's for creating this site. They saw a need and decided to make money from it. I agree that cheating is going to happen whether an AshleyMadison.com exists or not. If they're going to cheat, they will find a way to cheat. Does an AshleyMadison.com make it easier to cheat? Sure, it does, but it's up to you if you want to head down that road or not. Apparently, 18 million people chose to head down that road. (Shaking my head in shame.)