A New Orleans Baptist pastor who was allegedly outed in the Ashley Madison scandal committed suicide.
People reports that 56-year-old John Gibson, a professor in the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, was found dead on Aug. 24, just six days after hackers released the names of people who had accounts in the controversial Ashley Madison adultery website.
Christi Gibson, John's wife, was the one who found him dead. She said that in a suicide note, John had addressed his struggles with depression and remorse in the Ashley Madison incident. John had shot himself dead.
"He talked about depression. He talked about having his name on there, and he said he was just very, very sorry," Christi told CNN Money. "What we know about him is that he poured his life into other people, and he offered grace and mercy and forgiveness to everyone else, but somehow he couldn't extend that to himself."
Christi had to inform her two kids about the sad incident. One of them, Callie, was teaching in college when Christi called her up.
"It was a moment that life doesn't prepare you for," she said. "I had to call my kids. How do you tell your kids that their dad is gone and that he took his own life?"
Christi said that her husband was likely worried about losing his job.
"It wasn't so bad that we wouldn't have forgiven it, and so many people have said that to us, but for John, it carried such a shame," she said.
Ashley Madison, owned by Canada-based Avid Life Media, was hacked in July. Hackers then released user information in August. People reports police having said that there have been at least two suicides following the release of user information. CNN Money reports that hackers have also sent extortion emails to those who were on the list.
In a statement, an Avid Life Media spokesperson gave condolences to the bereaved family.
"Dr. Gibson's passing is a stark, heart-wrenching reminder that the criminal hack against our company and our customers has had very real consequences for a great many innocent people."
Since John's death, his family have made commitments to be more transparent with each other regarding their struggles. Christi also has a message for the people affected by the scandal.
"These were real people with real families, real pain and real loss," she said. But "don't underestimate the power of love. Nothing is worth the loss of a father and a husband and a friend. It just didn't merit it. It didn't merit it at all."
