Georgia lawmaker admits to Ashley Madison account

ajc.com

Credit: Brant Sanderlin, bsanderlin@ajc.com

Credit: Brant Sanderlin, bsanderlin@ajc.com


In a private email to friends and family, obtained by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution's Jim Galloway, Georgia state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, confessed to opening an account on Ashley Madison.

The website devoted to exra-marital affairs was hacked earlier this year and personal informaton of account holders was posted online last week.

In the email, Peake wrote:

[T]he truth is that several years ago, I was on this site during a very difficult period in my marriage. It was stupid and I was an idiot for going on there. Two and a half years ago I told her about every detail of my involvement on this site.

Through tears and heartache, much pain and anguish, and with intense professional counseling, we made the decision to work to save our marriage. Her powerful and merciful gift of forgiveness helped us make it through some very dark and lonely days, and come out the other side with a stronger relationship and marriage. Forgiveness is indeed life-changing, and miraculous.

According to the email, Peake also said he would be taking some time to evaluate his status as a house member.

Peake was the champion of last session's medical marijuana legislation. In May, the Macon lawmaker was appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal to head up the new Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis which will make recommendations for a system of creating an in-state growth and distribution system to provide the drug.