Elena Benavente
Updated Tuesday, April 2, 2024-21:31
Past Hugh Hefner's ex-girlfriend reveals that to live in the Playboy mansion you had to sleep with its owner
Couples Hugh Hefner's ex explains what their first date was like: "They had to put him on top of me"
Probably, between 2005 and 2009,
Holly Madison (43) was one of the
most famous
women
in the United States. According to various interviews, in 2000 the model was mired in
financial debt
and she feared that she would soon have to
live on the street.
But she met
Hugh Hefner at a party
and her life changed. In this way, the mannequin began to frequent the owner of
Playboy
and in August 2001
she moved into her mansion.
See this post on Instagram
Over the months, Madison gained prominence in Hefner's life and in February 2002 she became
his number 1 girlfriend.
That is, the one who had
the most rights
and, of course, the most
obligations
. One of them? Leading one of
Playboy
's television projects
:
The Girls Next Door
, the reality show on the E! which showed the
daily lives of the three women
the mogul was dating at the time:
Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson.
The series ran
for five years
and Madison, Bridget and Kendra became true
celebrities
. However, part of the public always criticized
Holly's
personality
. She was said to be
cold, calculating
and, at times, she seemed disconnected from reality. She never talked about her personality. Until December 2023 she revealed in a podcast that she has been
diagnosed with autism.
"I'm
on the autism spectrum.
But my doctor told me I'm 'high functioning,' which means
I can get on with my life.
I'm just a little quieter. I didn't know how to make
eye contact
before , and people "I took it as something offensive. They told me 'fuck you, you're not interested in me'. And it wasn't like that... It's just that
I'm not on the same social 'wave'
as other people. But it's nothing personal." , he pointed.
Over the past few months, Madison has tried to speak up and explain
what it's like to live
with a diagnosis like hers. But, this weekend, the star went further and opened her heart to reveal what her personal relationships are like. "I'm glad I can be
aware of my situation
, because now I can recognize how I react, why I act the way I do, and how I relate to people.
I've been able to improve my social skills,"
she told People.
"Today I am lucky to be
dating someone who has always understood me
and accepted me as I am. In fact, my diagnosis was not shocking to him. I think I have been very lucky, because lately I have not had many problems feeling connections intimate," he said. However, in the past Holly did have difficulties forming
romantic ties.
Although part of these problems had their origin in the Playboy mansion, where
he suffered numerous abuses.
"The first time I was with Hef
there was no romance or seduction.
It was all dark, there was a giant screen with
a porn movie
and everything was mechanical and robotic.
It was disgusting for me,
because he didn't want to use protection... And the impact "It was very strong," he revealed in the documentary
Secrets of Playboy
, in 2023, which tells how Hefner led a kind of
sect
, in which he kept the
playmates
subjugated .
What's more, Holly has claimed on numerous occasions that the businessman
controlled her finances,
prevented her from seeking employment, subjected her to
impossible schedules
and even denied her the psychological therapy she needed. "There were a lot of girls in the mansion and we had problems. Imagine having
sex with someone in a room full
of women who hate you and who speak badly about you... And that made me feel very low energy," he commented last year. .
"I started to think that I didn't have many options and, sometimes, after having those sessions, I would go to the bathtub and
think 'I just want to drown'.
I felt like I was in a cycle of misery," he confessed. Still, Madison managed to move forward and in 2009 she decided
to end any ties
that tied her to Hefner. For a time, Madison was
single
. However, in 2012 she found love in the arms of a
producer named Pasquale Rotella,
whom she married in 2013.
See this post on Instagram
Rotella and Madison
ended their relationship in 2018.
Despite this, the former bunny does not regret anything. "I know many people who have gone through a situation similar to mine, in the same mansion. Many of them had to go through a period in which
they even decided to be celibate.
But that was not my case. I went back to dating. ...And I'm glad I did it! Because with Pasquale
I had two incredible children," she told
People
a couple of years ago
.
And what about your work life? Holly is currently the
host of the podcast
Girls Next Level
, which she created with Hefner's ex-girlfriend Bridget Marquardt. They both speak candidly about
their experience at the mansion, the crazy parties
, and the strange relationship they had with the late millionaire. On the other hand, Madison presents and produces a show called
Lethally Blonde,
which premiered on March 23 on Investigation Discovery.