Karissa Shannon, once a prominent figure in Playboy and reality television, has stepped away from the spotlight to pursue a more private and conventional life in her home state of Michigan. Shannon, who rose to fame alongside her twin sister Kristina as the "Shannon twins," spoke about her new path on Lisa Guerrero's Unleashed podcast.
Shannon, now 36, moved into the Playboy Mansion at 18 and subsequently dated Hugh Hefner. She and her sister starred in the final season of E!'s "The Girls Next Door," filling the roles previously held by Holly Madison, Kendra Wilkinson, and Bridget Marquardt.
"I was like, you know what? Get out of the spotlight, cut the lights, cut the cameras, let me go find out where I want to live, where I can be in privacy, no one knows who I am, and live a normal life and just figure out what I want to do," Shannon explained on the podcast. She stated her desire to build on her "inner self," adopt healthy habits, and detox from her previous environment. Her immediate goals include becoming a housewife and a mother, providing for her children what she felt she lacked in her own upbringing, and finding "true love."
Shannon noted that while she retains her signature look, her appearance has changed since her initial introduction to the public. She is also consciously creating distance from her twin sister to foster individuality, stating, "We were always pushed that in our career, to be the same person, dress alike and do the same things, but we're really different."
Reflecting on her time dating Hefner and living in the Playboy Mansion, Shannon admitted she was not attracted to Hefner due to their age difference but acknowledged the financial security he provided. "I've never been taken care of, I've always had to take care of myself," she said.
In 2022, both Shannon twins spoke out against Hefner in the docuseries "Secrets of Playboy." Karissa claimed she contracted chlamydia after a threesome with Hefner on her 19th birthday and subsequently became pregnant, undergoing a secret abortion to avoid media attention. A&E, the network airing the series, noted that the majority of allegations had not been subject to criminal investigation. Holly Madison, another former girlfriend of Hefner, expressed surprise at Karissa's abortion account when questioned on a podcast in 2022.
The Shannon twins had a challenging upbringing, raised by their grandmother in a trailer park after their mother left. They left school at 15 to work in a restaurant and began taking nude photos for Playboy at 17. By 18, they were flown to Miami for a test shoot, which was cut short when Hefner invited them to live in the Playboy Mansion and appear on "The Girls Next Door." They later admitted to believing Hefner's persona was fabricated and that he wasn't intimate with the mansion's residents.
After turning 19, they reportedly began a sexual relationship with Hefner, which they described as an experience they disliked, even comparing it to "rape." However, they remained in the mansion due to fears of losing career opportunities and a sense of responsibility to their grandmother.
Following the cancellation of "The Girls Next Door" in 2010, the twins remained in the public eye, appearing on "Celebrity Big Brother" in the UK in 2012 and later engaging in hardcore pornography. While Karissa has since left that industry, her sister Kristina has launched an AI-generated chatbot and maintains an OnlyFans page.