Holly Madison Says She Made a ‘Dangerous Choice’ Becoming a Part of Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Inner Circle
Holly Madison reminisced on the days she was a part of the late Hugh Hefner‘s inner circle in a gripping new documentary called Secrets of Playboy, saying the glitz and glamour intrigued her, but not for long.
“I didn’t realize that getting into the Playboy world was a dangerous choice,” the model, 41, said in a new teaser released on Tuesday, August 17.
The 10-part special, which is set to premiere on the A&E Network in early 2022, includes interviews from his exes Bridget Marquardt and Sondra Theodore, as well as behind-the-scenes footage of the publishing mogul.
Former Playboy Mansion West resident Jennifer Saginor said there was a lot more happening than meets the eye. “He didn’t want people to know what was really going on,” Jennifer said about the magazine’s longtime editor-in-chief. “The people who were really there, they’re the ones who know the real truth.”
Holly, who lived with Hugh at the mansion until 2008, has been very outspoken about the way her experience impacted her. The mom of two previously alleged that she “had to sleep” with Hugh before moving in during an interview on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast in April 2021.
Her former Girls Next Door costar Kendra Wilkinson previously denied getting physical with him to get an invite, but Holly said she wasn’t buying it. “I’m not trying to slut-shame anybody or anything, but nobody ever got asked to move in unless they had slept with him,” the Holly’s World alum said.
Kendra, 36, later replied to the claims in a comment under E! News’ post about Holly’s interview, writing, “Dude … it’s 2021 [laughing emoji]. Times have changed. I forgive and have kids to love and focus on.”
Fans were first introduced to Hef’s leading ladies Holly, Kendra and Bridget when the show Girls Next Door first premiered on E! in 2005. At the time, Holly was referred to as his No. 1 girlfriend.
“It was horrendous the first three or four years I lived there. Before it was just me, Bridget and Kendra, it was me and six other women, and it would rotate every couple years,” Holly said on the podcast. “It was really cutthroat, nobody got along, everybody tried to snitch on the other or tell Hef a lie about the other to get someone kicked out.”
Holly also told host Alex Cooper that it was a “Stockholm syndrome kind of thing where I felt like I identified with him.”
The Oregon native previously shed new light about her time in the mansion in her 2015 memoir, Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny, which Hugh later responded to in a statement.
“Over the course of my life I’ve had more than my fair share of romantic relationships with wonderful women,” he told Us Weekly. “Many moved on to live happy, healthy and productive lives, and I’m pleased to say remain dear friends today. Sadly, there are a few who have chosen to rewrite history in an attempt to stay in the spotlight.”
After Holly split from Hugh in 2008, he went on to marry Crystal Hefner (née Harris) in 2012 and later died at the age of 91 in 2017.
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