Hugh Hefner’s widow, Crystal Hefner, has described their marriage as “traumatic” and “emotionally abusive” in a new interview.
For some context, Crystal and Hugh got married back in 2012, when she was just 26 and he was 86, and remained together until his death in 2017.
Crystal and Hugh had met five years earlier, when she joined his infamous Playboy Mansion at age 21. As you probably know, the late mogul engaged in multiple sexual relationships at the mansion with women decades younger than he was, and often branded them as his “girlfriends.”
In recent years, several former Playmates have spoken out about their negative experiences with Hugh — namely Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt, who have gotten extremely candid on their Girls Next Level podcast.
Holly and Bridget, who were just 21 and 25 respectively when they moved into the mansion, have since recalled being pressured to participate in orgies and feeling scared to leave in case any of their “revenge porn” was leaked.
The following month, Crystal — who had spent years largely speaking highly of Hugh — publicly vowed to tell her “complicated and conflicting” truth about what her life was really like at the Playboy Mansion.
“[W]hile the mansion in some ways was a sanctuary in other ways I was exploited like never before,” she wrote on Instagram, adding that she was “still trying to heal” from everything she’d been through.
Fast-forward to this week, and Crystal has released her long-anticipated memoir, titled Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself.
In the tell-all book, Crystal reportedly opens up in detail about how “controlling” Hugh was — not just when it came to sex but also regarding her and the other Playmates’ physical appearances.
Reflecting on her past relationship with Hugh during an exclusive chat with E! News this week, Crystal described the entire thing as “restrictive” and “traumatic.”
“It was very traumatic,” she said. “It was emotionally abusive. It was very restrictive. I didn't realize how bad it was until I was away from it for a while.”
“I never felt like I had a way out,” she continued. “I remember being 21 and walking up the stairs to Hef's bedroom after a party and something inside me is telling me, This is weird. But I'm like, OK, let's just push that down, let's not listen.”
Crystal went on to admit that she believes Hugh wasn’t “really” in love with her because of the way he treated her. “I loved Hef, I cared for him. But in some ways that he treated me, I just felt, OK, this guy can't really be in love with me,” she said.
What’s more, Crystal noted that she’s planning on getting rid of her married surname and returning to being "Crystal Harris," saying that it’s the “last step” to her fully being herself and achieving “true freedom.”
