Crystal Hefner reveals biggest regret from marriage to ‘manipulative’ Hugh after incest, rape claims

See more of our coverage in your search results. If Crystal Hefner could change one thing about her marriage to Hugh Hefner, it would be that it ever happened. The “After the Mansion” podcast host, 40, exclusively told Page Six that she asks herself daily why she ever exchanged vows with the Playboy mogul, who died at 91 in September 2017. “If I could go back, I absolutely wouldn’t have [married Hugh],” Crystal — who tied the knot with the Playboy mogul in 2012 — said. “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 told Page Six she regrets ever marrying Hugh Hefner. The two are shown above at a Halloween party held at the Playboy Mansion in 2014. Getty Images for Playboy Crystal claimed Hugh purposely chose partners he could easily manipulate. Page Six Crystal first met the publisher in 2008 while attending a Halloween party at the Playboy Mansion. After connecting through private conversations, she moved into the notable Los Angeles estate and became one of his girlfriends. She was named Playboy’s “Playmate of the Month” for the December 2009 issue. Three years later, she became Mrs. Hugh Hefner. Crystal claimed her late husband purposely sought partners who weren’t as smart as him. Crystal, shown at a press conference earlier this year, married Hugh in 2012, and they remained together until his death in 2017. Getty Images The two first met at a Halloween party held at the famous Los Angeles estate back in 2008. WireImage Want more celebrity and pop culture news? Start your day with Page Six Daily. Thanks for signing up! “Hef allegedly had a high IQ,” Crystal continued. “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.” Crystal is now opening up on her experience in the Playboy world, claiming she witnessed her late husband force women into horrific sex acts, including incest. Crystal has recently opened up on her experience in the Playboy world, claiming she witnessed her late husband force women to perform horrific sex acts. Getty Images Crystal also slammed the A-list men who frequented the Playboy Mansion. She is shown above during her appearance on Lisa Guerrero’s podcast. Lisa Guerrero/ Youtube “There were times that were really uncomfortable for me in the bedroom,” Crystal said on the “Lisa Guerrero Unleashed” podcast. “In the bedroom things would happen that ended up just not being OK.” She accused Hugh of trying to shove twins Kristina and Karissa Shannon’s heads into each other’s privates to “get them to engage with each other sexually.” In that same episode, Crystal referred to former “Saturday Night Live” star Jon Lovitz as the mansion’s “No. 1 customer.” Crystal told Page Six she wonders every day why she ever agreed to marry Hugh. WireImage She claimed the media refused to report anything negative about Hugh, as outlets “wanted this man in their pocket.” Ken McKay/ITV / Shutterstock “He would be up there all the time,” Crystal said of the comedian. “His eyes would go front to back [looking at] all the women that walked through the door at the party.” Lovitz, 69, later brushed off and mocked Crystal’s comments. On her own platform, Crystal claimed acting legend Jack Nicholson visited the mansion so often, it was nicknamed his personal “drive-thru.” “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,” Hefner told Page Six. “He was misogynistic, he was narcissistic, he was a pornographer that hurt the world,” she continued. Crystal, seen outside CBS Studios in New York City in 2024, has since changed her name back to Crystal Harris. GC Images Crystal initially pondered keeping the famous surname to “do good for the world or for women” before legally changing it back to Harris in 2025. Charley Gallay Crystal said Hugh “surrounded himself by like-minded men” like Bill Cosby and Donald Trump, claiming the mansion was often frequented by “really horrific, horrible” A-listers. Crystal went back and forth on whether she would use the famous surname “to do good for the world or for women,” but chose to sever her ties from Hugh completely. She legally changed her name back to Crystal Harris in late 2025, and married marine biologist James Ward. If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226. Community Guidelines Welcome to the Page Six Community! Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas in a safe space. In order to do so, we've created a simple set of rules that will improve your experience. Simply put, keep it civil. 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