Hours after Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s death in 2017, former playmate Kendra Wilkinson was getting high at a Sublime concert.
“Look, at the end of the day, I owe Hef nothing,” the 38-year-old told People, adding that she “smoked a lot of weed” at the time.
It is only now, two decades after she became one of Hefner’s girlfriends at the age of 18, that Wilkinson, who was hospitalized and diagnosed with depression and anxiety in September, is addressing her trauma and “demons” as a result of her five-year stint at the mansion.
She admitted that Playboy “messed up her whole life.”
“I got into deep regret [afterwards]. I got to that point where I started hating myself [and asking], ‘Why did I have sex with Hugh Hefner?’” she said.
“I hated my boobs, my body, my face. I got to that point where I started hating myself.”
Her admission comes after a slew of allegations against Hefner have emerged in the years since his passing, revealing the truth about the reality of life as a Playboy Bunny.
Past Playmates Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt have also been outspoken about life in the mansion — Madison once compared the mansion to a “cult” while Marquardt recalled the bunnies being “fed” to Hefner like “meat.”
Wilkinson said that “people were putting pressure” on her to “stick up for Hef,” but she refused.
“I’m not going to sit here and protect him,” she said. “Hugh Hefner decided to date millions of girls, right? That’s not my responsibility. And whatever happened with him, with his relationships, that was his thing.”
She added “It’s not my responsibility to protect a man for his life choices.”
Instead, the realtor wants to focus on her two “amazing” children — Hank Baskett IV, 14, and Alijah Baskett, 9 — who she shares with her ex-husband Hank Baskett. The pair divorced in 2018.
“He was five years of my life. He’s not my life,” she said. “So there were times where I kept trying to part ways with Playboy and it just kept following me through time. I had to really face the truth of it all.”
While she’s now opening up about her experiences with Hefner, her ultimate goal is to finally move on, despite her past as a playmate resurfacing. In a way, she said, it’s like a “rebirth.”
“Whatever that hurricane I was part of is in the far distance now,” she said.
