In January 2009, Harris began dating
Hugh Hefner, who was 60 years her senior. She joined the
Shannon twins as one of Hefner's girlfriends after his previous "number one girlfriend",
Holly Madison, had ended their seven-year relationship. On December 24, 2010, she became engaged to Hefner, to become his third wife. Harris broke off their engagement on June 14, 2011, five days before their planned wedding. In anticipation of the wedding, the July issue of
Playboy, which reached store shelves and customers' homes within days of the wedding date, featured Harris on the cover and in a photo spread. The headline on the cover read "America's Princess, Introducing Mrs. Crystal Hefner." Hefner and Harris subsequently reconciled and married on December 31, 2012. She remained married to Hefner until his death on September 27, 2017. Hefner and Ward eloped in Aitutaki in the Cook Islands on April 2, 2026. In 2016, Hefner announced on her social media outlets that she had been diagnosed with
Lyme disease and
toxic mold before finding her symptoms were also due to "
breast implant illness". Hefner stated that she experienced "
brain fog" and "chronic fatigue" due to the implants but had them removed, which alleviated some of the symptoms.
Allegations about relationship with Hugh Hefner In 2020, Hefner claimed she almost died due to a fat transfer procedure considered to be plastic surgery. Her memoir,
Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself, a tell-all memoir about her experiences at the Playboy Mansion and with Hugh Hefner, was published in January 2024. She backed allegations which surfaced in recent time that the
Playboy Mansion was a toxic environment filled with sexual abuse. She claimed she was "imprisoned" during her time at the mansion. In an interview with
The Guardian, she claimed that "Hef was on the extreme side of narcissism," and that "I had to play mind games to survive." ==References==