since she gave consent I don't believe this is cheating. In fact he could go on any dating site and check off "married" or "open marriage" status wherever available.

If you actually go to that AMA and read through, multiple people call out the multiple ways in which it looks like a PR stunt.

That whole AMA is absurd, and conveniently appeared right after the hack was first announced, and is surprisingly apologetic for a former employee.

"My co-workers were a bunch of mad geniuses"

"one of the best companies I've ever worked for"

"my gut reaction was "Great, the bitter wives brigade has done it again.""

Also, they had to retain your information for law enforcement, unless you paid $19 when they would do a super duper all layers deep wipe (apparently law enforcement no longer matters if you have $19?).

They claim be be a senior employee in management, but apparently also talked with every wife calling to find out about their husband.

It's an absurd AMA, and honestly could only possibly fool the gullible.

And FWIW, it makes no sense for someone in the situation described to use a service like Ashley-Madison. Not only is it overwhlemingly males, the few females are generally pursuing the sites dogma of having an affair -- is the healthiest way to fulfill that relationship to engage in someone else's domestic issues? It's like joining an "Al Queda Bombmakers" site because you want to make some cherry poppers for the cub scout glee -- the story isn't rational.

That seems like an absurd story to cast a sympathetic shadow on the site in the wake of a hack.

I would like to see actual Ashley Madison employees verify if the AMA was real and at least know who the woman posting is.

Yet this doesn't apply when people are doing illegal things in their private lives. Given the distinction between immoral and illegal is often an unfairly weighted popularity contest, it is not a justifying distinction.