News | Entertainment
9 Feb 2026 4:36
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Holly Madison says the Playboy Mansion was like a "cult"

    The 'Girls Next Door' star dated Playboy founder Hugh Hefner - who died in 2017 aged 91 - from 2001 and 2008 and has revealed how "isolated from the outside world" she and her fellow Playboy Bunnies were.


    The 42-year-old model also claimed the girls were only allowed to leave the legendary Los Angeles pad for special reasons and were told not to invite friends over.

    In a preview of the upcoming A&E docuseries 'Secrets of Playboy', she

    spilled: "The reason I think the mansion was very cult-like, looking back on it, is because we were all kind of gaslit and expected to think of Hef as, like, this really good guy.

    "You started to feel like, 'Oh, he's not what they say in the media - he's just a nice man.'"

    The blonde bombshell added: "Another thing that reminds me of a cult is how it was so easy to get isolated from the outside world there.

    "You had a 9 o'clock curfew, you were encouraged to not have friends over.

    "You weren't really allowed to leave unless it was, like, a family holiday."

    'Secrets of Playboy' is a 10-part series and premieres on January 24.

    It will also feature an interview with former 'Bunny Mother' PJ Masten and promises to expose the "hidden truths" behind Hugh's empire.

    Holly recently claimed her Hugh was "literally pushed on top" of her on their first date.

    She initially agreed to go out with him when there was a "spot open"

    after one of his girlfriends left the Playboy Mansion, and although she wasn't expecting a "very traditional" first date, she thought she'd be given an introduction into life with the media mogul rather than being pushed into anything.

    She recalled: "I didn't really know what went on with them sexually. I figured something, and I was prepared for that. I wasn't prepared for what would eventually happen.

    "I wasn't necessarily expecting to have sex that night. I thought it would be more of a first date.

    "[I thought it] would be more of a type of thing where I saw what happened, saw what was going on, [and] if I wasn't comfortable with it, I wouldn't have to do anything."

    However, things moved far quicker than Holly expected and the 'Vegas Diaries' star was left "mortified and embarrassed" by the events of their first date.

    She recalled: "He was literally pushed on top of me. And after it happened, I was just mortified and embarrassed and it had way more of an emotional impact on me than I thought it would...

    "It wasn't that the idea of possibly having sex with him repelled me so much. It was more the group aspect that was really out of my comfort zone and just the feeling of like, 'Wow. That happened. Everybody knows it happened.'

    "All of a sudden it felt like everybody was going to know about me and I was horrified by it."

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     07 Feb: Khloe Kardashian has "absolutely no fear about death"
     07 Feb: Dove Cameron was "celibate" before meeting her fiance
     07 Feb: Chris Pratt treats every day like Valentine's Day
     07 Feb: Jesse Eisenberg is a "daily patron" of the New York Public Library
     07 Feb: Jennifer Garner once bit a portion of a stunt performer's ear off
     07 Feb: Nick Jonas' daughter needed to be resuscitated shortly after she was born
     07 Feb: Catherine, Princess of Wales has shared a heartfelt message to commemorate World Cancer Day (04.02.26)
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Sprinter Zoe Hobbs has seared her competition with a scorching win at the Sir Graham Douglas Invitational athletics meet in Auckland More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Residents in Hawke's Bay's Kai-rakau have entered a second consecutive month of level 4 water restrictions More...



     Today's News

    Education:
    Fire crews have contained a huge blaze at a Taupo high school to the building it started in 21:57

    Rugby:
    Sprinter Zoe Hobbs has seared her competition with a scorching win at the Sir Graham Douglas Invitational athletics meet in Auckland 21:17

    Soccer:
    Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has dismissed the idea this season's Premier League title chase is over if his side lose to Liverpool in Anfield tomorrow morning 18:57

    Soccer:
    Liverpool manager Arne Slot understands tomorrow morning's opponents Manchester City remain a force despite not being in their best form 18:37

    Rugby:
    The Black Ferns Sevens will square off against Australia once again in a world series tournament decider later tonight 18:27

    Rugby League:
    Brisbane prop Payne Haas will reunite with coach Wayne Bennett at South Sydney after signing a three-year contract, a development that has the NRL world in shock 18:07

    Environment:
    Wellington officials are pushing for an investigation into the city's wastewater infrastructure 17:27

    Rugby League:
    A monumental signing in the NRL, with arguably the game's best prop to shift clubs after the upcoming season 16:57

    Christchurch:
    New Zealanders hoped never to see the Christchurch terrorist again. Now he wants to appeal his sentence 16:27

    Rugby:
    The Highlanders are keeping their fingers crossed for Fabian Holland as they prepare to find out more about the All Blacks lock's injury 16:17


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd