Josh Duggar's public profile is based on living a conservative Christian lifestyle, but he has now admitted he used the Ashley Madison website to organise extra-marital affairs.

In fact, he didn't kiss his wife for the first time until they stood at the altar of their wedding.

But that didn't stop him from crossing the normal boundaries most people try to respect in a marriage.

In a statement released on his family's website last night, Duggar called himself a hypocrite and admitted he had been unfaithful to his wife.

It comes after hackers exposed thousands of clients of a high-end dating website that helped married people have affairs.

As part of that expose, Josh Duggar's credit card details were revealed to have been used to make payments to the site.

Famous family

The 28-year-old's parents are famous, particularly in the States, for raising 19 children and for starring in reality TV show 19 Kids and Counting.

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are open about the fact that they do not believe in using birth control and have taught their children to be chaste.

Their views are so extreme they insist their children are chaperoned when with a person of the opposite sex until they are married and they encourage their children to avoid all contact with a partner - even once engaged - until after marriage. Some holding of hands is acceptable.

"I was taught to wait for God’s best in my life partner. But as time went along and I grew older it was harder to keep my heart only for the one that God had for my life partner" - Josh Duggar

All of the Duggar's children were home-schooled.

Josh himself has served on the executive council of the Family Research Council, an American conservative Christian group and lobbying organisation.

It opposes and lobbies against same-sex marriage and LGBT adoption, abortion, divorce, embryonic stem-cell research and pornography.

The family says they are normal people with normal lives who decided to make a television programme in order to spread the word of Jesus Christ.

Josh Duggar pictured in the back row, third from the right Photo: Duggar Family website

This latest episode might be embarrassing for the family, but it is nothing compared to an admission Duggar Jr had to make in May that he molested a number of young girls, including four of his sisters, as a teen.

"As I became a teenage young man I was constantly tempted to have lots of wrong thoughts, and often battled to keep my heart right."

Last night Duggar's parents said their hearts had been broken by their son's admission.

They asked for prayers for he and his wife Anna, their four children and the extended family.

Statement from Josh Duggar

I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have been unfaithful to my wife.

I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him.

I have brought hurt and a reproach to my family, close friends and the fans of our show with my actions.

The last few years, while publicly stating I was fighting against immorality in our country I was hiding my own personal failures.

As I am learning the hard way, we have the freedom to choose our actions, but we do not get to choose our consequences. I deeply regret all the hurt I have caused so many by being such a bad example.

I humbly ask for your forgiveness. Please pray for my precious wife Anna and our family during this time.

Josh Duggar

The statement and its admission of guilt lends legitimacy to the information released by the hackers behind the Ashley Madison expose.

Last week top executive Noel Biderman at the Ashley Madison holding company Avid Life Media maintained the first data daump was fake. 

Duggar is the first high-profile person to accept that he was using the website for its intended purpose - to set up affairs.