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Former Playmate Holly Madison reveals Hugh Hefner's 'cult-like' tactics during 'weird' group sex parties
Home>Entertainment>Celebrity
Published 15:23 14 May 2026 GMT+1

Former Playmate Holly Madison reveals Hugh Hefner's 'cult-like' tactics during 'weird' group sex parties

Former Playmate, Holly Madison, has opened up about her time living inside the infamous Playboy mansion

Rhiannon Ingle

Rhiannon Ingle

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Former Playboy model and ex-girlfriend of Hugh Hefner, Holly Madison, has opened up about his 'cult-like' tactics.

Hefner died aged 91 back in 2017 and, since then, many former Playboy Bunnies have come forward to share what really went down behind closed doors, with Madison being one of the most vocal.

Now, Madison, 46, lived in the Playboy mansion between 2001 and 2008, and, at one point, she was even crowned Hefner's 'Number One Girl'.

She recently sat down on the Let's Be Honest with Kristin Cavallari podcast to dish a little more about why life in the mansion felt so 'cult-like'.

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In the episode, which aired last week (5 May), Madison explained how things dramatically changed once filming began on The Girls Next Door reality TV series.

Former Playboy model, Holly Madison, opened up about Hugh Hefner's 'cult-like' tactics in the mansion (Chad Buchanan / Contributor / Getty Images)
Former Playboy model, Holly Madison, opened up about Hugh Hefner's 'cult-like' tactics in the mansion (Chad Buchanan / Contributor / Getty Images)

She recalled that, when she first entered the Playboy world, it wasn't a competitive environment, per Fox News.

However, ever since filming for the TV show began, she felt a noticeable shift.

"It was definitely coming mostly from Hef, also from the other girls, because before, it was just me, Bridget [Marquardt] and Kendra [Wilkinson]. There was like a rotating cast of six other slots, and nobody got along," she said.

"It was super competitive."

Madison lived in the Playboy mansion between 2001 and 2008 (Denise Truscello / Contributor / Getty Images)
Madison lived in the Playboy mansion between 2001 and 2008 (Denise Truscello / Contributor / Getty Images)

Elsewhere in the podcast, Madison claimed that Hefner actually enjoyed causing drama and 'engineering' tensions between the women as he allegedly 'liked to kind of play two different teams against each other'.

She continued: "So he always felt fought over, and he could always get his way, and we couldn't, like, you know… unionise against him."

"I was like, 'Oh sh*t, he’s been like engineering this the whole time. F*ck that,'" Madison recounted.

She added that Hefner was also very much used to his 'cult-like' following from those surrounding him, declaring that such individuals fawned over him in order to 'stay on the party list'.

In the same podcast, Madison detailed the group sex parties, which saw Playboy models 'kind of like taking turns' with Hefner.

Madison also opened up about the 'weird' group sex parties with Hefner (Laurence Cottrell / Contributor / Getty Images)
Madison also opened up about the 'weird' group sex parties with Hefner (Laurence Cottrell / Contributor / Getty Images)

"And then the girls who weren't active with him were kind of like, acting like they were active with the other girls, but not really," Madison explained. "It would be like kind of silhouetted because you'd have like these giant screens of porn going.

"And it was a really weird scene, and nobody liked it. And everybody tried to just get it done as fast as possible."

Madison went on to claim that Hefner's refreshed fame, due to the E! reality TV series, seemingly lowered his need for 'compulsive sex nights'.

"He was like high off the show," she continued. "It gave him, like, new relevance, like the ego boost, so he didn't really feel the need to like, 'Oh, I have to do these compulsive sex nights to make myself feel wanted and relevant,' I think."

Featured Image Credit: Lawrence Lucier/FilmMagic

Topics: Sex and Relationships, Playboy, Celebrity, Hugh Hefner

Rhiannon Ingle
Rhiannon Ingle

Rhiannon Ingle is a Senior Journalist at Tyla, specialising in TV, film, travel, and culture. A graduate of the University of Manchester with a degree in English Literature, she honed her editorial skills as the Lifestyle Editor of The Mancunian, the UK’s largest student newspaper. With a keen eye for storytelling, Rhiannon brings fresh perspectives to her writing, blending critical insight with an engaging style. Her work captures the intersection of entertainment and real-world experiences.

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