Holly Madison has spoken candidly about her years living at the Playboy Mansion, describing parts of the experience as “a little bit scary” and far more complicated than it first appeared from the outside.
The former Girls Next Door star, now 45, lived in the mansion from the early 2000s while dating Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, a relationship that began when she was 21 and continued for several years.
Speaking to Page Six, Madison said she initially viewed the mansion as “a safe harbor,” particularly as a young woman navigating the entertainment industry. “And, of course, it turned out to be so much more complicated than that,” she added.
Madison said she became increasingly aware of what she described as “a lot of predatory people” in the industry, and believed Hefner’s home would offer protection from that environment. Instead, she recalls a setting where trust was fragile and relationships were often transactional.
“It was very much an ‘everybody out for themselves’ kind of environment,” she said, adding that she learned “how people can turn on each other so quickly” during her time there.
Madison has previously been outspoken about the culture surrounding the mansion, including public perceptions of her relationship with Hefner, who was in his 70s and 80s during their time together. She said she was often labelled a “gold digger,” a characterisation she continues to reject.
“While living in a nice house is nice, it was never really like that,” she said. “It was more that I was fascinated by him. I was interested in the opportunities that being part of his world could provide, but I was never that person who was trying to get married and steal money or anything like that.”
Madison also addressed her time on The Girls Next Door, which aired from 2005 to 2009 and documented life inside the mansion alongside Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson. She said the women did not receive residuals from the series, and were not paid for the initial season order.
“We never got any residuals,” she said. “In fact, we didn’t even get paid for the first season order.”
Now hosting the true crime series Lethally Blonde, Madison said she can relate to some of the themes explored in the show, particularly around judgement and perception in sexualised industries.
“I think any time you’re involved in sex work, or anything that’s a more sexualised version of the entertainment industry, people can judge you and want to just write you off,” she said.
Madison, who has two children, said she is now “at peace” with her Playboy past, though she is more careful about discussing aspects of her private life publicly as her family gets older.
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Last modified: June 3, 2026
