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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.
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Karissa and Kristina Shannon detailed a troubling experience living with Hugh Hefner in the Playboy mansion. (Getty Images)
“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.”
The Shannon twins, with Hugh Hefner and his wife, Crystal, in 2009, said the Playboy mogul “crumbled” their identities. (Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage)
“It really crumbled who we are, especially when [Hugh] took our religion away,” she explains. “Our believing in Jesus became a big problem, and losing that was just really big trauma that we dealt with. We had no family that was there to back us up like a lot of the girls.”
After moving out, the twins faced another wave of challenges, including loss and substance abuse.
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“When we moved out, we had a couple of years where we went through this individuality phase,” Karissa said. “I feel like every set of twins goes through it, particularly in your early 20s. We were both into different things and trying to be individuals, because Hef really did force the twin thing on us, more than anyone else had ever. But we’ve always been extremely close. I believe we’re twin flames, closer than most twins.”
“Everyone was saying we were going through our ‘Anna Nicole phase'” Kristina said. “We gained weight. There was alcohol and pills. We were really unhealthy and lost and, even at points, suicidal. We had no one. It was just us trying to figure it out after losing ourselves.”
The Florida natives, in 2013, turned to alcohol and pills after leaving the Playboy mansion. (Jerod Harris/WireImage)
After hitting rock-bottom, the duo decided to move back to their home state of Michigan.
“We drove the whole way without stopping until we got to Michigan. I remember getting into Colorado and smelling that fresh air … it was just different,” Karissa said. “Being in nature desensitized us. We ended up being diagnosed with manic depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Being outside the city helped us slow down.”
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“We were totally just ready to be selfish for the first time. And we were all about God and praying constantly to Jesus,” she added. “We were literally praying and just trying to change our lives. And I feel like this is when we really grew up.”
These days, the duo continues to prioritize their mental and physical health. (David Livingston/Getty Images)
“I feel like out of all of this, God was humbling us,” Kristina noted. “He was humbling us and letting us know, ‘I have another plan for you.’ He’s restoring us, and that’s what we feel like now. We are completely different people, but still ourselves.”
“We’re still the playful twins who did Playboy, but we care about other things now. We are all about organics. Everything we eat, all our food is organic. All our water’s alkaline, our sheets are organic,” she added.
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These days, the twins continue to prioritize their mental and physical health the best way they can.
“We meditate every day together, and we’re into meal-prepping and not eating out, really self-care and just taking time for ourselves and learning how to be selfish, learning how to say no,” Karissa said.
“We went in our hearts, we went through our healing era, which took years. I didn’t think we would ever come out of it. But Michigan changed us. We love being in Michigan and then going to L.A. or Vegas for work,” Kristina added.
