Crystal Harris, Hugh Hefner’s Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Hugh Hefner has died at the age of 91 years old. He leaves behind four children, his legendary Playboy empire and his wife Crystal Harris. While Hefner was often surrounded by women, he died married to just one. Get to know more about Harris in our 5 Fast Facts below.


1. Harris Is Hefner’s Third Wife

For Crystal Harris, this was her first marriage, but Hugh Hefner had already been married twice prior to meeting Harris. In addition, he has had a long list of girlfriends over the years. Hefner even had a reality show called The Girls Next Door, with three of his girlfriends at one time – Bridget Marquardt, Holly Madison and Kendra Wilkinson. Harris also appeared on the show.

When it comes to Hefner’s ex-wives, he was married to Millie Williams from 1949 – 1959 and to Kimberley Conrad from 1989 – 2010. During his marriages, he had sex with other women and even admitted to dabbling in bisexuality decades ago.

Williams was a Northwestern University student, who Hefner married and had two children with – Christie and David. Just before marrying, Williams confessed to Hefner that she was unfaithful to him when he was away in the army. Hefner called this “the most devastating moment of my life.” In response to her own admission of infidelity and guilt, Williams reportedly allowed for Hefner to have sex with other women while they were married. Hefner revealed this information on a 2006 episode of E! True Hollywood Story.

As for Hefner’s other ex-wife, Conrad, she was a Playmate of the Year and they had two sons together – Marston and Cooper. When the couple separated in 1998, Conrad moved into a house next door to the Playboy Mansion. Hefner and Conrad were not officially divorced, though, until 2010.


2. She Struggles With Lyme Disease

In 2016, Harris revealed that she had been receiving treatments for Lyme Disease in addition to toxic mold. According to the Daily Mail, Harris announced the news about her diagnosis on her Instagram account. In the post, Harris wrote:

I was diagnosed a few days ago and have a long road ahead of me. Supposedly you get it from ticks but I have absolutely no recollection of being bit or having a rash or ANYTHING.

Harris’ symptoms were also increased when her breast implants became toxic. In response, she had them removed. Harris talked about her illnesses on Facebook, writing:

After I was diagnosed with Lyme disease and toxic mold, I posted about it on social media. I began to receive comments saying that my symptoms resembled “Breast Implant Illness” … Over time, implants (both silicone and saline) break down and wreak havoc on your body. The shell on silicone and saline implants is comprised of silicone and over 40 other toxic chemicals: tin, zinc, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, formaldehyde and talc to name a few. Your immune system is constantly fighting them, leaving you vulnerable to other illnesses … I explanted with Dr Lu-Jean Feng on June 15th, 2016.


3. Hefner and Harris Broke Up Five Days Before Their First Wedding

Hugh Hefner and Harris were engaged and broke up in 2011, with Harris calling off their relationship just five days before the wedding. They later reconciled and tied the knot on New Year’s Eve 2012, at the Playboy Mansion.

When the two got back together, Daily Mail reports Harris saying:

This time around is amazing… I’m very happy and Hef’s very happy and we’re excited.

Harris said that getting married provided her with security in their relationship.


4. Harris Was a Playmate

Harris first met Hefner on Halloween in 2008 during a party at the Playboy mansion. She later went on to appear in the magazine. Her first appearance with Playboy was as “Co-Ed of the week” on Playboy.com magazine during the week of October 30, 2008. At that time, she posed under the name of Crystal Carter.

Prior to the couple’s first planned wedding, an issue of Playboy with Harris on the cover had been shot. It ended up making it to stands with the title “Introducing America’s Princess, Mrs. Crystal Hefner” on the cover, along with a sticker that read “Runaway Bride”.


5. She Previously Told Howard Stern She Wasn’t Attracted to Hefner

After Harris and Hefner broke up in 2011, Harris did an interview on the Howard Stern Show and said that Hefner lasted “about two seconds” in bed and that she wasn’t attracted to him. She stated:

Hef doesn’t really take off his clothes. I have never seen him naked … I am not turned on by Hef. Sorry.

Following the interview, Hefner responded via Twitter, writing:

Crystal convinced me that she adored me. That was the first lie … I don’t blame Howard. Crystal shouldn’t have been booked on the show at this sensitive time.

Harris later publicly apologized for her words. Watch the full interview above.