Hugh Hefner's widow says living at the Playboy mansion 'literally' made her sick as she claims her Lyme disease and breast implant illness was caused by 'toxic mold exposure.'
- Jan 29, 2024
AceShowbiz - Crystal Hefner has battled Lyme disease and a breast implant illness - which she now blames on the Playboy Mansion attacking her immune system. The former Playmate, 37, who was wed to Playboy boss Hugh Hefner from 2012 until his death aged 91 from sepsis in 2017, lived at the infamous home from the age of 21 when she first met the pornographer.
In her new memoir "Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself", she blamed the litany of illnesses she suffered while living at the mansion on the black mould she says infested the home.
Crystal says in her book, "I not only had Lyme disease, but also breast implant illness, and my blood work and symptoms also suggested toxic mould exposure."
"This whole time, the mansion had been breaking me down, one way or another. The house itself was literally making me sick. The funniest thing to me - darkly funny - was the way that Hef had always insisted that the mansion was better than the outside world, right down to the air."
Crystal is convinced the black mould infestation lurked in the mansion's vents. She added about the cavernous house, "This was a beautiful English Tudor home - and my family is from England - on five acres in the middle of LA."
"But over time, I saw that this place doesn't really get cleaned that well and there's mould. It just felt rundown and gross after a while. Everything was mouldy and dusty and it was just hoarder central in the mansion."
Crystal also tells in her book how she endured a string of "unspoken rules" after moving into the Playboy Mansion. She said the "No 1 most important" rule of living there was to always adore Hugh.
A second was a requirement for plastic surgery, which she claimed made the women in the house "competitive." Along with getting breast implants, Crystal had a nose job and liposuction. She said, "It was unspoken but also very clear that there was no other option if I wanted to stay."
