A 21st century masquerade ball with free alcohol, paper bags and 80 single characters. It had Shakespearean comedy, or tragedy, written all over it.

Unless you're lucky enough to live under a rock, you've probably heard that Ashley Madison, a dating site that caters to married folks looking to cheat on their spouses, has had a huge data leak.

Some might cheer Ashley Madison breach, but it shows even ordinary people can be hit and hurt by the cyber-zealots.

Later this month Mrs Seymour will fly to Minsk to compete in Mrs Universe - a beauty pageant for women who are married with children, that begins on Monday.

The fallout from the Ashley Madison hack is a massive wake-up call that all of us need to take greater care with our data, writes Juha Saarinen.

If you've ever used it - or you're worried your spouse might have - read on for our advice on dealing with this most intimate of criminal hacks.

Ashley Madison's founder has long argued that the unfaithful are unfairly stigmatized. Not only that, he thinks that the world would be a better place if more people cheated on their spouses.

Abuse is possible anywhere, so learn the warning signals and be honest with yourself and your loved ones. Here's what you should be watching out for.

It seems as good a time as any to delve into one of the most complex and fascinating questions in social science: Are humans even meant to be faithful to one partner?

"Making normal sexuality into a medical problem is an easy PR task with enduring serious consequences for the health of NZ women."

Council staff, youth workers, health professionals and a lawyer are among the Kiwi civil servants linked to account details hacked from AshleyMadison.com.

Dumping your girlfriend by text is not the most adult way to end a relationship - but what this woman did next was certainly not a grown-up way to deal with it.

The hacking of customer data threatens to ruin lives. Plus, graphic shows 25 cities with highest number of accounts.

Hackers who infiltrated cheating site AshleyMadison.com have acted on their threat to publish data online - and it appears a would-be cheater has used the PM's name.

Hackers who infiltrated cheating site AshleyMadison.com last month have today acted on their threat to publish customer data online.

It may have been a fake, but that didn't stop what was believed to be Jennifer Aniston's wedding dress from going viral.

The end of a loving relationship is akin to coming off an addictive drug, and male and female coping mechanisms do often appear to follow slightly different paths, explains Jill Goldson.

Industry experts claim flibanserin could be given the green light within days, making it the first officially sanctioned drug for low female sex drive on the market.

For when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended a high society wedding on Saturday at Thurlestone Hotel in Devon, the guest list included many of their closest circle.

Candice Swanepoel has got engaged to Hermann Nicoli. The Victoria's Secret Angel, 26, and the Brazilian model, 33, are set to tie the knot after 10 years of dating.

Hundreds of couples have poured into New York's Times Square to re-enact the famous photograph of a kiss between a sailor and a woman celebrating the end of World War II.

Another day, another moral panic over The Kids and their sexy, promiscuous online dating.

Study shows a large proportion of middle-aged drinkers are having risky sex with partners - and then regretting it afterwards.

"We're behind a s*** ton of marriages": Tinder hits back at "dating apocalypse" claims in bizarre rant on Twitter.

So we asked some online dating experts for help on making the best first impression. Follow these tips, and you might get more right swipes.

It's often said that opposites attract. Now psychologists agree - but only for explaining why people become best friends.

A new documentary on Gloriavale has revealed more about what it's like to live in the West Coast community - and how its residents react when someone walks out.