"Life is short. Have an affair." This is the slogan of AshleyMadison.com, an online dating service launched around 2002, which is specifically geared toward married or attached individuals looking to have an affair. Similar to other online dating services, to utilize AshleyMadison.com, one must become a member by registering with the website. Once a member, he or she will be able to initiate contact with other members via messages or emails. According to the site's FAQ section, AshleyMadison does not encourage infidelity. In fact, the site encourages anyone with marital problems to seek counseling. But, according to the site, "if you still feel that you will seek a person other than your partner to fill your unmet needs, then we truly believe that our service is the best place to start."
If this is your first time hearing about this site, you may think this site is an obscurity. You would be mistaken. AshleyMadison is growing in popularity among both single and attached individuals alike who wish to develop relationships with married individuals. In fact, according to statistics collected by website, over 12.7 million Americans are currently utilizing the website. This is up from 4.1 million Americans in 2009. With this being said, if you suspect your spouse of infidelity, it would not be outside the realm of possibility that your spouse either knows about AshleyMadison or is a member.
However, if your spouse is a member of the site, it will likely be very hard, if not impossible for you to discover him or her because the site takes measures to protect member's identity, and does not require members to enter certain identifying information that may be requested by other internet sites.
So, what can you do? Check your credit card statements. Although the site practices discrete billing, be on the lookout for unusual spending habits. Additionally, if your spouse is spending unusual amounts or time on the computer, or if he or she has become increasingly protective of their internet to computer activity, be wary. If you are currently going through a divorce, or if you are considering divorce, you should also know that there are certain legal tools called discovery that your Georgia divorce attorney may implement to uncover whether your spouse has sought an affair via AshleyMadison or any other dating site.