News | Entertainment
25 Feb 2026 7:53
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
     25 Feb: Rebecca Gayheart has thanked those who have offered financial support to her family
     25 Feb: Savannah Guthrie's family offers $1.42m reward to bring home missing mother Nancy
     25 Feb: Matt Bellamy and Elle Evans have reportedly split
     25 Feb: Jerry O'Connell got hypnotised to quit smoking
     24 Feb: Hailee Steinfeld feels "more prepared for a newborn" as time goes on
     24 Feb: Leigh-Anne Pinnock wants her twin daughters to "choose if they want to be famous or not"
     24 Feb: Judy Garland once tried to boot her daughter Liza Minnelli off stage during a joint performance
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Scott Robertson has picked up his first coaching gig since getting dismissed from the All Blacks role in January More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Government support for regional air routes is taking flight More...



     Today's News

    Rugby:
    Scott Robertson has picked up his first coaching gig since getting dismissed from the All Blacks role in January 7:47

    Rugby League:
    Warriors assistant coach Slade Griffin is highlighting Mitch Barnett's impact on the club's younger forwards 7:37

    Health & Safety:
    New treatment options for melanoma are being described as the global gold standard 7:27

    Entertainment:
    Rebecca Gayheart has thanked those who have offered financial support to her family 7:21

    Business:
    Government support for regional air routes is taking flight 7:17

    Entertainment:
    Savannah Guthrie's family offers $1.42m reward to bring home missing mother Nancy 7:07

    Christchurch:
    Two separate emergencies on State Highway One north of Christchurch are causing significant delays 7:07

    Entertainment:
    Matt Bellamy and Elle Evans have reportedly split 6:51

    Health & Safety:
    Melanoma advocates hope a new Pharmac proposal will take the pressure off patients 6:27

    Entertainment:
    Jerry O'Connell got hypnotised to quit smoking 6:21


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd