Crystal Hefner Book Revelations: Hugh's Death, Playboy Rules and More

Crystal Hefner didn't hold back when it came to tackling her decade-long stint as a Playboy Bunny in her new book, Only say good things: Surviving Playboy and finding myself.

“Life in the mansion was not the fairy tale I had ever hoped for,” Hefner, 37, wrote in her memoir, which was released on Tuesday, January 23. of a fairy tale. But that wasn't the case, and everyone who lived there knew it.”

The model left her mark on the late Hugh Hefner during a 2008 Halloween party at the Playboy mansion and was invited to live in the home after spending the night with him. She was 21 years old at the time and quickly bypassed other bunnies to become Hugh's No. 1 girlfriend.

On Christmas Eve in 2010, Hugh proposed to Crystal – sort of. “Hef never asked me to marry him,” Crystal wrote, also noting that she technically never told him yes.

After some ups and downs – with Crystal being called a “runaway bride” – the couple married on New Year's Eve in 2012. They were together until Hugh's death in September 2017.

“I was never in love with Hef, but I loved this old man the way you're supposed to love your parents,” Crystal wrote in her book. “The way you're supposed to love someone who is nearing the end of a long and complicated life.”

In the book's introduction, Crystal references the inspiration behind the title, recalling Hugh asking her to “say only good things about me” after he died. Keep scrolling to discover the biggest revelations from Playboy and beyond:

Crystal's early years

Crystal described the hardships she went through before her career as a Playboy Bunny began. Her father, Ray Harrisdied when she was 12 after a battle with cancer.

Years later, Crystal lost her first real love, Greg, who was deployed to Afghanistan. Greg was her second boyfriend in high school, and the pair had a “magical and blissful” relationship until Crystal learned she was pregnant. She described her abortion, which left her feeling “worthless” and “irresponsible” and caused her breakup with Greg. Crystal then entered a “world of self-destruction,” which included another friend living in a world full of drugs, alcohol and porn.

Before Crystal became a Playboy Bunny, she studied psychology at San Diego State, but never finished school.

The Holly Madison 'Rivalry'

Once Crystal was fully integrated into the mansion as Hugh's 'main friend', she felt the looming presence of Holly Madison – who previously held the same position.

“I knew she had been a commanding presence in the mansion and that she had left under shady circumstances,” Crystal wrote, noting that she felt “intimidated by the shadows.” [Holly] cast even after she left.

A 'rivalry' arose between Crystal and Holly for the Girls next door reality show. In one of her first scenes on the show, Crystal said, “I'm not the new Holly, she's the old me,” playing on the likely tension. In a second scene, Crystal recalled filming her 2009 Playboy spread with a sprig of holly above her head. “They, as usual, tried to stir up some rivalry between me and Holly Madison,” Crystal wrote about the film Girls next door producers.

Crystal's Shocking 'Girls Next Door' Salary

Crystal revealed that she was paid nothing for the show's sixth season and claimed that Hugh made $400,000 per episode. While she did earn some money for the Marry Hef TV special, it paled in comparison to what her husband earned. Crystal wrote that she took home a fee of $2,500 for the entire series, while Hugh earned $800,000.

Hugh's opiate addiction

Crystal claimed that Hugh had a “secret” opiate addiction that “no one ever talked about.” She wrote that his addiction to pills began “legitimately” when doctors gave Hugh an “earthquake supply” of Percocet for his back pain, along with “his regular monthly refill.” (She also claimed that Hugh was addicted to Dexedrine and Quaaludes over the years.)

Becoming Hugh's runaway bride and how Jordan McGraw fits into this picture

After Crystal's engagement to Hugh, she started to get cold feet. After she found her “safe haven” in the musician Jordan McGraw – and in turn his father, Dr. Phil McGraw – she decided to pack up and leave the Playboy Mansion without any notice. Jordan even “emptied out one side” of his closet for Crystal.

“I ran straight to Jordan and hid from everything,” Crystal wrote. However, moving in with Jordan still felt “overwhelming” and “intense,” and their dynamic “started to sour pretty quickly.”

Crystal said her brief romance with Jordan ended because of his “love bombing” and “Prince Charming behavior.” She claimed she found an email apparently sent by Jordan's mother. Robin McGraw, who reportedly told him to end the relationship. She eventually moved back to the Playboy Mansion.

How the mansion made Crystal sick – literally

Crystal revealed a barrage of health issues she faced all at once.

“I not only had Lyme disease, but also breast implant disease, and my blood work and symptoms also indicated exposure to toxic mold,” she wrote, claiming that there was black mold in the Playboy Mansion's air vents.

“The whole time the mansion had been destroying me in some way,” she wrote. “The house itself literally made me sick. The funniest thing to me – darkly funny – was the way Hef had always insisted that the mansion was better than the outside world, right down to the sky.”

The unspoken Playboy Mansion rules

In her memoir, Crystal noted that she learned several “unspoken rules” after moving into the Playboy Mansion. The no. The cardinal rule of life in the manor was to always worship Hugh.

A second was the plastic surgery rule, which she said made the women in the house “competitive.” In addition to getting breast implants, Crystal underwent a rhinoplasty and liposuction. “It was unspoken, but also very clear that there was no other option if I wanted to stay,” she wrote.

How Hugh actually died

In 2017, it was announced that Hugh died of natural causes. However, Crystal offered deeper insight into her husband's death in her memoir.

He was diagnosed with an “aggressive” E.coli infection that was “highly resistant to antibiotics and difficult to treat,” Crystal wrote. She recalled holding his hand during their last interaction together while antibiotics were administered through an IV. “I'm fine,” Hugh said, which Crystal noted were “his last words.”