Kendra Wilkinson didn’t (and still doesn’t!) care what anyone expected of her after Hugh Hefner‘s death.
In a new interview with People out on Saturday, the former Playboy model revealed she’s been pressured to stick up for the businessman after his passing in 2017 and amid a slew of icky allegations — but she doesn’t give a f**k!
Kendra’s attitude about all of this probably started the day he died — when, instead of mourning his loss, she “smoked a lot of weed” and got high at a Sublime concert. Defending her actions, she explained:
“I’m not going to sit here and protect him. Hugh Hefner decided to date millions of girls, right? That’s not my responsibility. And whatever happened with him, with his relationships, that was his thing. It’s not my responsibility to protect a man for his life choices.”
Very true! And for the record, they’d long been broken up by the time he died at age 91, so it’s understandable why she didn’t care to sit around and grieve.
Related: Crystal Tried To ESCAPE Mansion — But Hef Told Staff To ‘Detain Her’?!
Besides, she’s had her hands full just trying to unpack the trauma she experienced. The Girls Next Door alum, who lived in the Playboy mansion from 2004 to 2009, has been doing a ton of therapy to unpack the complicated time of her life, she added:
“I got into deep regret [afterwards]. I got to that point where I started hating myself [and asking], ‘Why did I have sex with Hugh Hefner?’ I hated my boobs, my body, my face. I got to that point where I started hating myself.”
Oof. So sad!
But, as Perezcious readers know, after she eventually left the mansion, the 38-year-old married football player Hank Baskett, later welcoming kids Hank Jr., 14, and Alijah, 9. So, she’s had her hands full in more ways than one. And through this all, her past has continued to haunt her. It was just last September that she was hospitalized and diagnosed with anxiety and depression, something she seemingly blames on Playboy. She says that time in her career and public existence “messed up her whole life,” noting:
“It’s not easy to look back at my 20s. I’ve had to face my demons.”
And yet, despite all she went through, people have still urged her to defend and protect her ex — no matter what! She expressed:
“Do you know how many people were putting pressure on me to stick up for Hef with all his allegations and all this stuff? That’s not my responsibility to stick up for someone like that. That’s what started triggering me because people were like, ‘Well, why don’t you stick up for him?’ And I had a marriage to my ex-husband and now two kids to focus on now, not Hugh Hefner.”
Oh, no! Terrible that all this pressure led to some of her most recent mental health struggles! We cannot imagine how stressful and frustrating it must be to have so many people telling her what to do as she was simply just trying to move on. Speaking of, Kendra went on:
“Hef kept appearing in my life and there were times where I wanted to stop that. I’m, like, ‘Hef’s not a part of my life anymore. Can we not include Hef in my life moving forward?’”
Making an important distinction, she furthered:
“He was five years of my life. He’s not my life. So there were times where I kept trying to part ways with Playboy and it just kept following me through time. I had to really face the truth of it all.”
While she’s more open to speaking about her past now, the blonde beauty is also just as eager to move forward, such as by focusing on her real estate career. We get it!
It’s certainly interesting to hear her take on all this, especially as Crystal Hefner has been opening up a ton in her new autobiography, Only Say Good Things. And if the title wasn’t already an indication, she told DailyMail.com last year:
“My relationship and marriage to Hugh Hefner was a very complicated one. It was one where, no matter how I was treated, I always felt like I had to protect him, which is why I have not shared my story until now. Since his passing, I have had to do a lot of self-discovery. I have had to find out who I am without it being dictated to me. I have had to not only find my voice, but I also had to learn how to use that voice. My book is a testament to the power of time, processing all that I have been through and embracing my truth.”
Kendra might not’ve been sticking by Hugh’s side after his death — but that doesn’t mean some of his ladies weren’t willing to do whatever it took to protect him! Now, though?! Seems they’re all sick of keeping secrets! Thoughts?! Let us know (below)!
[Image via WENN/Avalon/FayesVision]
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