Holly Madison Says Life At Playboy Mansion Was Cult-Like

Holly Madison, who dated Hugh Hefner and resided at the Playboy mansion, talks about it in the new A&E docuseries Secrets of Playboy, which will show in ten episodes starting Jan. 24. In a new clip from the upcoming docuseries Secrets of Playboy, Holly Madison expands on her terrible experience as a Playboy Bunny.

The show, which has been releasing stunning previews in recent months, intends to reveal the “secret reality” behind Hugh Hefner’s company, which he oversaw until his death in 2017. The 10-part series will launch on January 24, according to the network, which also released a new trailer on Wednesday.

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. And you started to feel like, ‘Oh, he’s not what they say in the media, he’s just a nice man.’

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.

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Madison, 42, claims Hefner persuaded her to resign her waitressing job, which she only had one day a week, in case “things don’t work out” during her time at the Playboy Mansion.

In addition to Madison, the docuseries will feature interviews with Hefner’s personal valet Stefan Tetenbaum, Playboy Mansion West resident Jennifer Saginor, former “Bunny Mother” PJ Masten, former Director of Playmate Promotions Miki Garcia, and Hefner’s other past girlfriends, Bridget Marquardt and Sondra Theodore.

Madison departed the house in 2008, and her memoir, Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny, was published in 2015. On the Power: Hugh Hefner podcast, the Girls Next Door alum described her “traumatic” first sexual encounter with Hefner.

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