Hugh Hefner's ex-girlfriend Holly Madison says living in Playboy Mansion was like a 'cult'

Holly Madison has shared an insight into what it was really like living in the infamous Playboy mansion and some of the 'weird' things she saw.

Former Playboy Bunny and ex of editor Hugh Hefner, Madison, lived and breathed the reality of the Playboy mansion and has since spoken out about not just her relationship with Hefner being 'a false paradise', but what it was like living inside the mansion too.

Madison dated Hefner for seven years between 2001 and 2008, and during that time, lived in the mansion where the so-called bunnies were paid on a weekly basis, 'weird' trays were dotted around rooms and the whole experience felt like a 'cult'.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror, ahead of the release of the 2022 documentary Secrets of a Playboy, Madison lifted the lid on life inside the mansion, explaining the bunnies had a curfew of 9pm - and she didn't stop there.

Madison explained not only was there a curfew but bunnies weren't allowed to leave for long periods of time.

She also alleged so-called bunnies were paid on a weekly basis - a sum totaling a hefty $1,000.

However, she explained living in the mansion wasn't all just wad fulls of cash but came with some strict rules too.

She continued: "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.

"You started to feel like, 'Oh, he’s not what they say in the media — he’s just a nice man'. Another thing that reminds me of a cult is how it was so easy to get isolated from the outside world there.

"He said it made him jealous, and he would appreciate it if I quit my job – so, instead, we were given $1,000 a week as an allowance. 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."

Holly Madison dated Hugh Hefner for several years (Getty Images/ Denise Truscello/WireImage)

Madison also discussed her 'traumatic' first night with Hefner, talking about how he was 'literally pushed on top' of her and lashed out at her because she cut her hair too short for his liking.

In an interview last year, she described to People seeing 'weird' 'trays everywhere' with 'any kind of makeshift lube' on them, lying in the bathroom, by the tennis courts and pool.

Details of life inside the mansion have emerged since Hefner's death in 2017 aged 91, including rumours about Hollywood stars taking part in 'scandalous nights' and sex parties where 'carloads of women' were brought to the Playboy Mansion.

There have also been allegations of drug use and sexual abuse at the mansion, with Insider reporting that a former employee of Hefner's had described the rampant drug use as a 'necessary evil', with Quaaludes referred to as 'leg-spreaders'.

The Playboy Mansion itself was bought from Hefner for $100 million a year before he died, though he continued to live in it until his death.