01-05-2025
Holly Madison makes shock claim about connection between 'sexualized lifestyle' and Playboy Murders
Holly Madison skyrocketed to fame when she starred on The Girls Next Door as Hugh Hefner's 'number one girlfriend' alongside Kendra Wilkinson and Bridget Marquardt and since then, she's been sharing stories of Playmates from over the decades.
Holly, now 45, met Hef when she was 21 and he was 75. She went on to cover Playboy magazine and star on the wildly popular E! show, which ran from 2005 to 2010 and was a hit with millennials, and now, Gen Z.
The reality TV star dated Playboy founder Hugh Hefner - who died in 2017 at 91 - from 2001 and 2008 and previously revealed how 'isolated from the outside world' she and her fellow bunnies felt.
Holly recently spoke to via Zoom to discuss her podcast Girls Next Level, the third season of her ID show The Playboy Murders, what life in the seemingly glamorous Los Angeles mansion was really like, and the upcoming Girls Next Door anniversary.
August 7, 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of the show, but don't expect a reunion between all three former girlfriends.
'There's such a difference and a rift between the two of us and Kendra, and I don't know what we would do to celebrate,' Holly admitted, as the pair famously feuded following their time dating Hef.
Despite clashing with Kendra, Holly is still extremely close with Bridget, although she had a 'more negative and harrowing' experience than her fellow podcast host.
Hosting the podcast together has helped Holly 'reclaim the good memories from that time.'
Holly, now 45, met Hef when she was 21 and he was 75. She went on to cover Playboy and star on the wildly popular E! show, which ran from 2005 to 2010
The Girls Next Door seemed alluring to viewers, but Holly has been outspoken about how controlling Hef was throughout her relationship, as well as how ' miserable ' the experience was, whether in her 2015 memoir Down the Rabbit Hole or on her podcast.
Holly dealt with 'a lot of pushback from people in the Playboy scene over the years' after sharing her story.
While many Playmates were supportive, she found that some people were offended that she wanted to tell the truth 'because it didn't match their narrative of what their story was, or what their experience with Hef was. They've just been mad from day one, so they don't like any of it.'
Of course, Holly's isn't the only distressing story coming out of the Playboy mansion over the years. One case that sticks with her is the disturbing death of Kimberly Fattorini, who's featured in the first episode of The Playboy Murders. Holly received messages from Kimberly's friends and family for years about featuring the unresolved case and there's still a pending civil suit. Now, Holly wants closure.
As for why there are so many horrific stories - including Hef's former girlfriends the Playboy twins Karissa and Kristina Shannon revealing they were scared they would end up dead like Anna Nicole - Holly blames the 'high stakes lifestyle.'
'When you're involved in a world where you're highly sexualized or sexualizing yourself, and there's a lot of things at stake and things you could possibly gain, like fame, money, opportunities, there's people around you who are jealous of those things,' Holly divulged. 'It's truly living life in the fast lane.'
While there aren't enough stories for a season four, she would like to showcase Playboy Bunny Eve Stratford, who worked at the Playboy Club in London in the '70s and was brutally murdered. Next up, she's going to be returning to hosting Lethally Blonde, which highlights cases about people in entertainment or sex work.
It took Holly years to open up about what she went through in the mansion. When she first left the house she would try to be positive anytime people asked about her experience, because it was an 'easy way to dismiss everything, and tie my experiences up in a nice little bow.'
After a few years, she felt like wasn't being truthful - but she knows it took some of Hef's girlfriends 'decades to come forward.'
Holly remembers meeting Hef's ex-girlfriends and she could 'tell something was a little wrong,' even though they were 'trying to have a great experience' and would come to the family events with their husband and their kids.
'I could always see that there was a little bit of sadness behind their eyes, or they seemed a little upset, and I never really knew why, but I always kind of had a suspicion that maybe they had a similar experience to me,' Holly admitted.
As the years have gone by, the way Holly views her time in the mansion has changed, especially after she was diagnosed with 'high executive functioning autism' in 2023.
Now, when she re-watches the show for the podcast, she sees herself zoning out on camera or playing with her hair, which is her stim - a self-stimulating behavior. 'It provides me with insight into why I leaned into some of the decisions I made,' Holly explained, adding that she's 'grateful' for her diagnosis because it helps her understand why she chose Hef.
'I felt like it was real because he's so good at making a young girl feel like he's connecting with them. I was somebody who never really connected with guys my age and I think that has a lot to do with being neurodivergent. I wasn't destined to fall for some older man, which is kind of how I interpreted back then.'
Holly remembers meeting Hef's ex-girlfriends and she could 'tell something was a little wrong,' even though they would come to the family events with their husband and their kids
While Playboy has rebranded many times over the years, the Vegas Diaries author isn't sure how the once-iconic brand could have maintained its relevancy, especially with the rise of social media.
'Instagram really stole the thunder of the lifestyle platform that Playboy was and the showcase for beautiful women,' Holly said. 'If you were going to really revive the brand to a point where it was super relevant again, I don't know how somebody would do that.'
'So many of the things that made Playboy special have just been siphoned off by other things, whether it's online porn or OnlyFans, or even lifestyle showcases like Instagram.'
Holly continues to be outspoken about the way OnlyFans creators portray themselves on social media and how it influences young women. 'I would like to see people being honest about the industry, rather than just showcasing how much money they're making and what kind of a house they're able to buy,' she told Daily Mail.
'I hope people are being honest about all aspects of the industry and not just trying to make it look cute and fun to do a gang bang with 1,000 guys.'
Holly has seen the dark side and knows 'there's a lot of emotional baggage that can come with that.' She thinks 'there's very few people that can go into a profession like that and just be able to handle it emotionally and "have sex like a guy," so to speak.'
'I hope that young people are seeing a more holistic view of that industry, and not just the glamorized version.'
Holly, a mom of two with ex-husband Pasquale Rotella, 50, sees people post about watching the show growing up who are now watching with their daughters.
'It's crazy to think that really young girls were watching the show - little kids watching it with their moms when it was out.
'I just hope that everybody's having an open conversation about what the relationship was really like. Even though there were things about the lifestyle that look so fun and glamorous, it's not a relationship I would ever recommend to anyone. It's not just, "Go live with a rich guy and share with other girls."'
'I don't want anybody thinking that's a good idea,' Holly said.
