Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Bunnies’ heartbreaking confessions – from abuse to humiliating sex rituals
Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends looked like they had it all living in the plush Playboy mansion with his millions at their disposal — but behind the scenes it was a very different story
Hugh Hefner was known as the world’s most notorious womaniser with strings of stunning girlfriends and sexy Playboy Bunnies at his beck and call.
And while those women appeared to be living the high life, making use of Hefner’s millions and living at the famous Playboy mansion, behind-the-scenes was a heartbreaking reality.
Over the years some of his girlfriends have come to make serious allegations against him, from inflicting emotional abuse to forcing them into humiliating sex rituals.
Here we take a look at some of the Playboy Bunnies’ most heartbreaking confessions and reveal what life was really like by Hugh Hefner’s side….
Sex rituals
All of the women living at the Playboy Mansion were expected to have sex with Hefner, who had a bizarre nighttime routine, it’s claimed.
In her book Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny, Holly Madison said girlfriends would change into identical flannel pajamas beforehand.
Hefner, who died in 2017, would watch porn, smoke weed, and masturbate while the girlfriends would kiss each other around him, she alleged.
Holly says they would take turns pleasuring Hefner, but he always finished by himself
She said: “There was zero intimacy involved. No kissing, nothing.
“It was so brief that I can’t even recall what it felt like beyond having a heavy body on top of mine.”
Kendra Wilkinson said she found the sex so unbearable that she couldn’t stay sober for it.
Writing in her book Being Kendra: Cribs, Cocktails, and Getting My Sexy Back, she said: “I had to be very drunk or smoke lots of weed to survive those nights – there was no way around it.”
Emotional abuse
Hefner would often put the girlfriends down about their apperance.
Many have said this left them insecure and constantly worrying about how they looked.
Recalling one incident, Holly said: “‘Don’t ever wear red lipstick again,’ [Hefner] warned me in a low voice and turned toward the door.
“He paused and turned back around to survey my reaction.
“Deciding he hadn’t done enough damage, he served me one final blow before storming out of the room: ‘You look old, hard and cheap.'”
Kendra remembered one evening when he put her down because of her weight, saying: “We were all in the limo on the way to a book signing with Hef when he pulled me aside. ‘Is everything okay?’ he asked.
“‘I feel fat, Hef,’ I told him. ‘Everyone is so pretty. It’s making me really insecure.’
“‘Well, you look a little bigger,’ he said honestly. ‘Maybe you can go to the gym.’
“When we got home, I went to my room and cried myself to sleep. I was disappointed in myself.
“I had this whole mansion and a great life to enjoy, and all I was doing was lying around and eating. I felt so lazy and miserable. This was supposed to be paradise, but for me, it wasn’t.”
Begging for money
The live-in girlfriends each received $1,000 (£750) pocket money from Hefner himself every Friday, some have claimed.
When they went to get the money he apparently used the opportunity to explain to them everything he thought they had been doing wrong.
In her book Bunny Tales: Behind Closed Doors at the Playboy Mansion , Izabella St. James described the grim routine.
She writes: “We had to go to Hef’s room, wait while he picked up all the dog poo off the carpet — and then ask for our allowance.
“We all hated this process. Hef would always use the occasion to bring up anything he wasn’t happy about in the relationship.
“Most of the complaints were about the lack of harmony among the girlfriends — or your lack of sexual participation in the ‘parties’ he held in his bedroom.
“If we’d been out of town for any reason and missed one of the official ‘going out’ nights he wouldn’t want to give us the allowance. He used it as a weapon.”
Trapped in the mansion
While the Playboy Bunnies could enjoy nights on the town at Hefner’s expense, the live-in girlfriends didn’t have much freedom, Kendra claimed.
She said she had to be at home every night by 9pm, which made her feel trapped.
She said: “Nights were hard because while my Playmate friends got to go out and party, I would have to be home by 9 p.m.
“I’d get a text message from a girl that read, ‘Having so much fun in Vegas. Wish you were here! Partying with all these football players’’ and that was devastating.
“I felt so trapped and angry when I was missing out on something good.”
Holly agreed, saying: “Everyone thinks that the infamous metal gate was meant to keep people out. But I grew to feel it was meant to lock me in.”
Strict rules
As well as the curfew and allowance, the live-in girlfriends had to follow a strict set of rules if they wanted to stay in the mansion.
If they were photographed outside of the mansion they had to look perfect and were scolded if they appeared drunk.
They also had to stay silent whenever he was being interviewed at the mansion.
Hefner only allowed them to have bleached blonde hair but they could have as much cosmetic surgery as they wanted.
They couldn’t have their own cars, instead loaning them from Hefner and returning them when they left the mansion.
Catfights
With strict rules to live by and constantly competing for Hefner’s attention, it’s no wonder the atmosphere was tense between the girlfriends.
While Kendra, Holly and other girlfriend Bridget Marquardt appeared to get on well during filming for Girls Next Door, the reality was a different story.
Kendra said: “During that first season, Bridget, Holly, and I continued to keep our distance, except when we were filming.
“We did our thing off camera, and there was an unspoken competition for camera time when the cameras were around.
“Each of us wanted the others to look good and be successful, but whether they will admit it or not, I think we each wanted the spotlight and to look the best in every episode.”
Holly said there was a lot of jealousy, especially when she got the coveted position of number one girlfriend.
She explained: “Suddenly, Playmates who had once mocked me were kissing my ass, bringing me gifts and showering me with compliments now that I was Hef’s number one girlfriend.
“The sudden shift in the way some of those girls acted was completely obvious and shameless, but I suppose they thought I was too dumb to notice or that I would be so grateful to be treated kindly for a change that I wouldn’t object.”
Crumbling Playboy mansion
With its 22-bedrooms, swimming pools and gates to keep out intruders, the Playboy mansion looked like the height of luxury and celebrity extravagance.
But inside, things were a whole different story.
Former girlfriends have revealed there was dog poo everywhere and porn strewn across every room.
Melissa Howe also described “dirty” carpets in the mansion and the poor state of the girls’ rooms in her book.
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