Holly Madison diagnosed with high executive functioning autism

Holly Madison recently learned she is on the autism spectrum.

“I was suspicious about it for a while because my mom told me she always suspected that was a thing,” Madison, 43, revealed during the Friday, December 8, episode of the “Talking with Death” podcast, noting that she often came out as a child and had “trouble” recognizing social cues.

The Girls next door alum added, “I just made excuses for it. I thought it was because I grew up in Alaska, and moved to Oregon around high school, and I thought, “Well, that was just a big social change.” So I’m just very introverted. That’s how I’ve always written it off.”

Madison told podcast host Payne Lindsey that she was officially diagnosed earlier this year.

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“The doctors told me I’m functioning at a high level, which pretty much means I can live my life and do things ‘normally,’” she added Friday. “I think because I’m quieter, I only recently learned to make eye contact [and] I’m often lost in my own thoughts, so people take that as offensive. … I’m just not on the same social wavelength as other people, but don’t take it personally.”

Madison also has trouble knowing when people have finished speaking, causing her to unintentionally interrupt them. “That tends to make people angry,” she says. “I am studying [to improve].”

The former Playboy model has noticed this “everywhere [her] life,” many people have hated her after she “rubbed [them] the wrong way” about her behavior. “They think I’m conceited or snobbish or think I’m better than everyone else,” she explained. “I also don’t really have a sense of when other people have finished speaking, so I tend to interrupt a lot, which makes people angry.”

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Madison recalled that she previously “never made eye contact” with others, something she has had to work on since.

“I can apologize to people when I interrupt or talk about it and tell them why,” she noted, adding that she wants to make sure people understand her diagnosis. “I’m a little more patient now and I don’t take things so personally.”

Madison concluded her podcast appearance with some simple advice on dealing with someone who is neurodivergent.

“Everyone works differently and maybe I think when interacting with anyone you have to be a little bit patient because you don’t know what they’re dealing with or what their level of social functioning is, you know?” she said.