Back in August 2015, the ‘dating’ site Ashley Madison was hacked, exposing married cheaters the world over.

We found out 86 per cent of the site’s users were men, São Paulo had the most registered users of any city and it’s mainly used by rich, powerful men.

But what became of the marriages of the guilty parties, whose secret infidelity was suddenly not-so-secret at all?

One man who was exposed in the hacking has now spoken out about what happened to him in an article for the LA Times.

Rick Thomas was 56 when he joined Ashley Madison. He’d been married for 19 years, and although he’d been faithful to his wife the whole time, the excitement in their relationship had fizzled:

“Call it a midlife crisis, poor judgment or a cheater’s heart. Whatever it was, I easily found fault in my marriage. Intimacy was long gone. Our focus was on making a living and raising kids. We had not taken a vacation without children in years.”

Thomas retired from his corporate job early, bought a Harley Davidson and got a tattoo - so far, so midlife crisis. But then he found Ashley Madison and was so enticed he signed up.

Whether the timing was good or bad for Thomas is open to debate, as two weeks after joining the site, it was hacked.

He’d yet to take any relationship offline, but he was in trouble.

In pictures: Top 10 cheating towns of the UK Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Top 10 cheating towns of the UK In pictures: Top 10 cheating towns of the UK 1. Maidenhead 1,316 people out of a population of 63,580 are having an affair in Maidenhead, Berkshire In pictures: Top 10 cheating towns of the UK 2. Livingston In the West Lothian town of Livingston, Scotland, 1,080 people out of a population of 56,269 are straying from their spouse In pictures: Top 10 cheating towns of the UK 3. Farnborough In the Hampshire town of Farnborough, 1,008 people who are married or in long-term relationships are having an affair out of a population of 65,034 In pictures: Top 10 cheating towns of the UK 4. Loughborough Queen's Hall in Loughborough, the Midlands town where 877 people out of a population of 59,932 are having an extra-marital relationship In pictures: Top 10 cheating towns of the UK 5. Bracknell Bracknell Town Centre. Out of 77,256 people, 1,128 are having an affair in the Berkshire town. In pictures: Top 10 cheating towns of the UK 6. Gravesend Gravesend clock tower. Of 55,467 people in the Kent town, 784 people are having an affair. In pictures: Top 10 cheating towns of the UK 7. Beeston The Old Gatehouse at Beeston Castle, the town where 702 people out of a population of 51,479 are using Illicit Encounters to cheat on their wife or husband. In pictures: Top 10 cheating towns of the UK 8. Aldershot The rail station in Aldershot. In the Hampshire town, 776 affairs out of a population of 57,211are taking place. In pictures: Top 10 cheating towns of the UK 9. Gosport Gosport Marina as seen from the Spinnaker Tower. Gosport is one of a handful of Hampshire towns to make the Infidelity Index. 960 people out of a population of 71,529 are having an affair. In pictures: Top 10 cheating towns of the UK 10. Taunton Horses gallop at Taunton Racecourse. 802 people of the 60,479-strong population of the town are having an affair. Michael Steele/Getty Images

Whilst several high-profile members of the site were revealed to the public, Thomas was blackmailed and started receiving emails from a hacker who called himself Mr X:

“I have all the information about your online affairs and even the cheatings you did... I am going to send messages to all of your friends and family members. Wondering how to prevent me from doing this?”

Mr X demanded Thomas pay him $1,000 in bitcoins by a deadline.

“How much is your marriage, standing in your community, and reputation at work worth to you? Your countdown has started,” Mr X threatened.

Thomas decided he wouldn’t pay up but would come clean to his wife.

“Why did you do it?” she asked.

Thomas couldn’t give her a real reason though: “I hemmed and hawed, but just couldn’t dance around the fact that I took the first step of introducing infidelity into our marriage.”

He begged, groveled for forgiveness, promised to remain faithful, suggested counselling and told her he loved her.

“My wife just shook her head and walked out the front door,” leaving Thomas to think about everything he might be about to lose - he’d seen the 50th anniversaries of his parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents.

“My family is close-knit. Their marriages go the distance,” he says.

His wife didn’t walk out forever though - she came back early the next morning and suggested Thomas book an appointment with a marriage counselor.