Former Playboy twins open up about ‘trauma’ they experienced after years in Hugh Hefner's mansion
Former Playboy twins Karissa and Kristina Shannon have opened up about the 'trauma' they endured after living in Hugh Hefner's infamous mansion.
Ever since Hefner died in 2017 aged 91, many women have spoken about their time with the magazine publisher and life in the Playboy Mansion.
His ex-girlfriend, Holly Madison, claimed that living in the mansion was like a 'cult' while Kendra Wilkinson revealed her relationship with the Playboy founder left her with 'a little bit of a sex problem'.
Karissa and Kristina Shannon rose to fame during the last two seasons of Girls Next Door, which focused on Hefner's life with his three girlfriends, Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson.
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Now 35, Karissa and Kristina were just 19 when they moved into the Playboy mansion.
They sat down with People magazine to discuss their time in the Hollywood home.
Karissa said: "It was such a culture shock for us. We literally ... We didn't grow up with a young mother, so we didn't know about hair and makeup. We didn't know much about fashion or style. And we're a lot younger than Bridget, Kendra and Holly - we're teenagers."
Kristina added: "We were literally just teenagers. We were all natural. We didn't have fake teeth. We didn't have fake boobs like the other girls or fake hair. We just walked around with natural faces over tan because we were always in the sun in Florida.
"We got a lot of jealousy from the other Playmates because we were twins. We were the first twins to each get our own months, which made Playboy history. We were the youngest Playmates and the youngest girlfriends."
Kristina noted that they soon realized 'what they show on TV and on the show was a 100 percent different from what was going on behind the scenes'.
Karissa also spoke about the aftermath of Playboy after being in and out of the mansion over a period of three years, People notes.
"We always say Playboy will always be a part of our lives. We were Playboy fans and we still are Playboy fans. Even though it turned out to be very traumatic for us, there were also a lot of high points," she went on.
Kristina chimed in: "It's even in the way we were born. We know we were born three months premature ... When we were born, we actually weren't breathing. Our lungs weren't fully developed."
"We've had to fight for our lives, our whole lives. We came from a lot of trauma. We're trauma bonded," Karissa admitted.
Amid adjusting back to normal life, the twins decided it would be best to leave Los Angeles to get that healthy balance.
"Kristina and I decided to move. We didn't know where to go, so we decided to go back to where we were born and leave LA," Karissa added.
"We sold the beauty salon we owned at the time, and said, 'Let's get the hell out of here and live a simple life. Let's just start healing'."
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center or you can webchat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
Topics: Hugh Hefner, Hollywood, Celebrity
Callum Jones