Playboy twins say troubling experience with Hugh Hefner crumbled their identities, led to substance abuse

At 19 years old, former Playboy playmates — and twins — Karissa and Kristina Shannon’s lives took a drastic turn after moving into Hugh Hefner‘s Playboy mansion.In a new interview, the twins, now 35, open up about the troubling experience they shared while living in the mansion with Hefner, who died in 2017, and fellow playmates, explaining how it led them down a dangerous web of addiction and sharing the steps they took to eventually find peace.“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,” Karissa told People magazine. From the get-go, the Florida natives said they were met with bouts of “extreme jealousy” from other playmates after Hefner showed favoritism toward them. “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 said.“When we’re taking pictures, he would want to get in the middle of the twins to take a picture.Or he would be like, ‘Can you move the twins toward the front of the table? I want to sit next to them.’ So the girls started getting really jealous,” Karissa noted.“It made Kristina cry.

Kristina literally cried and wanted to leave the mansion when we were shooting.And I told her, ‘These girls are older.

They know how to play the game better.But we’re pretty.

We’re here.We’ve made it this far.’ And so we ended up staying and Kristina got through it, but there was so much bullying,” she added. During their four-year stay at the mansion, Karissa said the experience “left a huge hole in both of our hearts and our spirits.”“It really crumbled who we are, especially when [Hugh] took our religion away,” she explains.

“Our believing in Jesus became...