In his January memoir, Say Only Nice Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Yourself, hugh hefnerwidow of, crystal hefnerpaints a grim picture of life at the Playboy Mansion, where she spent nearly a decade during her nearly five-year marriage to the famed magazine publisher, who Died at the age of 91 In 2017.
“Sometimes I imagined myself as Rapunzel, locked in her tower, waiting for someone to rescue her. But no one ever did,” Crystal wrote, describing an intensely competitive and toxic environment in which she was pitted against other playmates by a controlling person who dictated her every move, even what color nail polish she could wear. “I didn’t always know I needed to be rescued,” she added, “but I knew I was trapped.”
Crystal isn’t the first person to compare the famous Playboy Mansion — a 22,000-square-foot L.A. spread known for its opulence and debauchery-filled A-list parties — to a prison. But during a May episode of “Girls Next Level,” the podcast hosted the girl Next door Stars bridget marquardt And holly madisonThe women – along with their guest, Hugh’s 34-year-old son Marston – took aim at Crystal, 38, and her claims.
marston went so far Call him “Master Manipulator” and the gold digger who had Hugh change his will as his mental state declined towards the end of his life.
The allegations were harsh and brought new fuel to the long-running feud between Crystal and Holly, 44, and Bridget, 50, which began after Holly and Hugh split in 2009 and Crystal started dating Hugh’s main girlfriend. Took charge as.
Now, in an exclusive interview for Us Weeklycover story ofCrystal accused Holly and Bridget of harassing her and “sabotaging” her and trying to “ruin my life”, adding, “If I have a problem with someone, I will go to that person and Will talk to them. Apparently they just want attention. (She also says she felt like she had a good relationship with Marston, who was a guest on her now-defunct podcast in November 2023.)
A source says of Krystal, Holly and Bridget, “They were never friends.” “Holly automatically hated Krystal,” says the insider. “It was a spell against her— It’s like witchcraft.”
“I’m not the new Holly. That’s the old me,” Crystal said in her debut show. The Girls Next Door, Which ran from 2005 to 2010.
In the years since the show’s closure, Crystal and Holly have both separately said that they believe the hit E! The reality series deliberately created discord between them. “Their initial fight was over the situation at the mansion,” says the source. “Holly wanted so badly to be Mrs. Hefner. She was bitter.
There will be tension between colleagues in 2021 The Girls Next Door Alum Kendra Wilkinson And Holly brought it up after she talked about the “rough” dynamics between the women in the mansion (in response, Kendra said she’s moved on from the drama).
Krystal publicly sided with Kendra by aligning herself with Holly, further driving distance between herself and Holly. “I’m rooting for Kendra here,” Crystal said on social media. “I don’t know why these women who shared an incredibly unusual and rare experience… can’t get along? Maybe for the same reasons Holly and Bridget hate me for absolutely no reason.”
Marston said Crystal was obsessed with power and claimed she controlled the guest list that came and went at the mansion (he said she banished her father’s longtime friends).
Marston said, “You knew sometimes you had to be a little scared so you wouldn’t get on his bad side.” The first source says Hugh’s inner circle became smaller due to Playboy’s budget cuts. Adds a second source: “Crystal was a true wife of the house, she had a lot of say and could make decisions.”
Still, Crystal says Hugh was “the king of the castle.” [and] Whoever he wanted to see was around him.” Crystal added, “Sometimes when a woman speaks up, she is called rude — especially by people who no longer benefit from her keeping quiet — and controlled by people who can no longer control her.”
As for Marston’s comment that Crystal invited strangers to Hugh’s funeral, she says: “I invited her close friends and her office. I’m the one who saw Hugh die; He didn’t. Marston came, but [his kids] I wasn’t with him 24 hours a day.” (Hugh died at home from sepsis caused by an E. coli infection.) Crystal adds: “I was married to him. That was the closest I had to Hef.
Marston also accused Crystal of having Hugh make changes to his will (so he could get more money) while he was in a fragile mental state. ,[He] He doesn’t know where he is, why is he changing his f–king will? Marston asked. Crystal says Hef had an estate attorney, adding, “Whatever Hef decides to do or change is up to him.”
Crystal also addressed Martson’s claims that her father was put on “f–king drug doses”, explaining that she herself does not take any prescription drugs. “I try not to. If I don’t feel good I’ll take supplements. I’m against all of that. So I wanted him to be involved in any of that kind of thing as little as possible,” she says. Are.
Crystal says Hugh was “very sharp”, adding, “I mean, it’s sad to denigrate this guy who has one of the highest IQs in the world and who built this whole empire. And then this Saying he is not credible makes it sound like he has done nothing.”
As for Marston’s portrayal of Hugh, Crystal expresses sadness. “I think he obviously still has a lot of pain and suffering because of his relationship with his father, or the lack thereof,” she says. “And I think there are some things he needs to heal or find answers to.” Trying to get through, but realizing they will probably never be answered. So he might be filling in the blanks himself.
Crystal tells We She has no hard feelings towards Holly and Bridget or Marston, who she spoke to after hearing about their podcast. According to Crystal, he retracted some of the statements and claimed things were taken out of context.
“I still look at them like family,” she says We, adding that she thinks Marston is struggling with trauma due to his less-than-ideal relationship with his father. “Obviously, he is in a lot of pain and injury.”
She hopes that she and Holly and Bridget will someday be able to sit down and talk and eventually become friends. “I hope we all get well and stay together. I don’t hold any grudges against anyone,” she adds. “When you are happy and feel good, you do not wish any ill will towards anyone.”
Watch the exclusive video above to learn more about the reignited Playboy controversy — and pick up the latest issue of Playboy. us weeklyOn newsstands now.
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