Crystal Hefner Expresses Deep Regret Over Marriage to Hugh Hefner
The former Playboy model states she would not have married the late mogul if she could go back, citing his manipulative nature.
Crystal Hefner, the widow of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, has revealed that her marriage to the mogul is her biggest regret. She stated in an exclusive interview that she frequently questions why she ever married Hugh Hefner, who died in September 2017 at the age of 91.
"If I could go back, I absolutely wouldn’t have [married Hugh]," Crystal, who married Hefner in 2012, told Page Six. She attributed her decision to marry him to her background, stating, "I came from a broken home. I didn’t have a father. And I know now that Hef chose people he could easily manipulate, like that was it."
Crystal Hefner first met Hugh Hefner in 2008 at a Halloween party hosted at the Playboy Mansion. After developing a connection through private conversations, she moved into the Los Angeles estate and became one of his girlfriends. She was featured as Playboy’s “Playmate of the Month” in December 2009, and three years later, she became Mrs. Hugh Hefner.
Hefner alleged that her late husband intentionally sought partners who were not intellectually his equal. "Hef allegedly had a high IQ," Crystal explained. "I always thought, why didn’t he want somebody that was at his level intellectually? And it’s because those people are harder to control. So he chose the women that came from broken homes and broken backgrounds."
In recent discussions about her experiences within the Playboy world, Crystal has made serious accusations against her late husband. She claims she witnessed him forcing women into deeply disturbing sexual acts, including incest.
"There were times that were really uncomfortable for me in the bedroom," Crystal stated on the "Lisa Guerrero Unleashed" podcast. "In the bedroom things would happen that ended up just not being OK."
She specifically accused Hefner of attempting to force twins Kristina and Karissa Shannon's heads into each other’s private areas to encourage sexual engagement between them. During the same podcast episode, Crystal referred to comedian Jon Lovitz as the mansion’s "No. 1 customer." Lovitz, 69, has since publicly dismissed and mocked Crystal's claims.
Crystal also claimed that actor Jack Nicholson frequented the mansion so frequently that it earned the nickname of his personal “drive-thru.”
She asserted that the media largely refrained from reporting negative information about Hugh Hefner during his lifetime, stating, "We also need people to know how powerful this man was when he was alive, that the media wanted this man in their pocket and so they didn’t really put out anything negative about Hef."
"He was misogynistic, he was narcissistic, he was a pornographer that hurt the world," she added.
Crystal also mentioned that Hefner "surrounded himself by like-minded men" such as Bill Cosby and Donald Trump, suggesting that the mansion was often a gathering place for "really horrific, horrible" A-list individuals.
Crystal considered using the Hefner surname to advocate for women but ultimately decided against it to distance herself completely from Hugh.
In late 2025, she legally reverted to her maiden name, Crystal Harris, and married marine biologist James Ward.
For those affected by issues of sexual assault, the Sexual Assault Hotline is available at 1-800-330-0226.