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| Kristen Taekman : A cheat AND a liar |
The husband
of Real Housewives of New York star Kristen Taekman told a series of
lies when he was confronted about being on Ashley Madison by Daily Mail
Online.
Josh
Taekman claimed he didn't 'understand', that there was 'not a shot in
hell' he was on it, that any suggestion he was a member was 'f***ing
bananas' and that somebody must have used his card 'fraudulently'.
But
hours after Daily Mail Online revealing his use of the infidelity
website, he semi-backtracked and issued a statement admitting to being a
member - but still did not tell the whole truth.
'I
signed up for the site foolishly and ignorantly with a group of friends
and I deeply apologize for any embarrassment or pain I have brought to
my wife and family. We both look forward to moving past this and getting
on with our lives.'
In fact, he had not just signed up - he paid to access the site 62 separate times, spending a total of more than $1,500.
Daily Mail Online can reveal that his membership spanned three years.
The
46-year-old businessman who has been married to former model Kristin,
38, for more than ten years first logged onto the cheaters' website on
June 29 2011 - when his wife was newly pregnant with their second child.
There
is then a gap in his activity until May 2012, when their second child,
daughter Kingsley, now 3 was around five months old.
The couple also have a six year old son, Cassius, known as Cash.
Taekman
then used the site on multiple occasions every single month between May
2012 and June 2014. He even logged on twice the day after Christmas
2013.
Each
transaction represents a payment made, ranging from $19.99 to $79,
allowing Taekman to send emails to other Ashley Madison members.
Ashley
Madison which operates under the tagline ,'Life is short. Have an
affair,' is accessible for free but users must buy credits to send
messaged: $49 gets 100 credits while $250 earns, 1000 credits and a
money-back guarantee if you don't have an affair within three months.
The
address shown in the leaked credit card records is the address in
Tribeca, New York, of the two bedroom rental where the couple live and
where scenes of the show were filmed.
The email address used in the profile – Jteezy012@gmail.com – is close to the Twitter handle used by Taeken, @JTeezy012.
Taekman
was a prolific user with 62 separate transactions between June 2011 and
June 2014 when his activity abruptly stops, shortly after the couple's
debut on RHONY and as his public profile, and scrutiny of the couple's
marriage, rose.
Viewers
of RHONY became used to witnessing Taekman and Kristen's bickering and
his apparently casual cruelty to her. Kristen felt forced to defend her
husband from detractors admitting in an interview with OK! last year:
'After every episode, viewers would go on Twitter and tell me to divorce
my husband….I am really bummed at how he was portrayed.
'People are calling him a d***** bag. He is not a d***** bag. The show made him seem much harsher than he really is.'
But
speaking at the time she added: 'I'm not taking all the blame for our
relationship issues. There is definitely stuff that Josh needs to work
on too…Marriage is really hard. It drains you. But that is reality.
Reality is not five nannies and two housekeepers. Josh and I are normal
people with not normal careers. What you see on screen is who we are.'
And
what was seen on screen was a frequently strained relationship – so
much so that the couple had 'long discussions' before agreeing to appear
on another seaons of the hit Bravo show.
According
to reports at the time: 'There was a lot of added strain in the
marriage after the season aired so Kristen agreed not to allow cameras
as much access to them as a couple.'
Taekman
met Kristen when he was working as Vice President of Marketing for P
Diddy's Bad Boy Entertainment label. During the label's peak he handled
the careers of artists like Faith Evans, 112, Loon, Danity Kane and
countless others.
That is the same period they met fellow New York Housewife Heather Thompson, who also used to work for Bad Boy.
When
the label was bought by Atlantic in 2005, California-born Taekman left
to launch his own business, Vitalize Labs, which produces the energy
drinks and supplements EBOOST popular among celebrities like Jillian
Michaels, Bruce Willis and Kelly Ripa.
