The secrets of the Playboy Mansion have been revealed five years after its kingpin Hugh Heffner passed away.
A-listers would sip cocktails around the pool with the Bunnies, take part in tennis tournaments and hang with their fellow rich and beautiful people.
However, after years of neglect, the mansion ended up lying in ruins and being stripped by looters.
Several people who used to live and work at the mansion have started speaking out about what went on at the raunchy parties and how they were treated.
The iconic venue hosted some stellar nights but those who lived there for many years claim it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
So what really happened to the Playboy Mansion?
Mansion’s heyday
The Playboy Mansion, in Holmby Hills, LA, was the place to be for a long time, report Mirror Online.
As well as being Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner’s home from 1974 until his death in 2017, it was also a constant party, with rumours that he’d pick a different Bunny to join him in bed every night.
From tennis tournaments to movie nights and drinks receptions, it was a firm favourite among the rich and famous.
The mansion became an iconic venue, featuring in a string of Hollywood movies, TV shows and even video games.
The expansive home also played host to many a charity event over the years, but those who got a glimpse inside said it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
What is was really like inside
Back in 2015, British twins Carla and Melissa Howe said the Mansion had changed a lot since its days of wild parties and debauchery.
They said that by the time they moved in - splitting their time between the LA and the UK - the Bunnies were more likely to be asked to join Hef in a gentle game of tennis or to watch one of his favourite movies from the 1950s than for a romp between the sheets or a sexy hot tub session.
And security at the 22-bedroom home was apparently so strict that everyone staying there had to stick to a super early curfew.
Carla said: “When you’re here you have to be in by the 9pm curfew. You’re not allowed to invite any friends up to see you.
“You’re definitely not allowed male visitors. If you break the rules you get banned. Once you’re out, you’re out, you can’t come back.
“Hef’s wife Crystal went to do a DJ set miles away so she had to stay overnight. But she was still back by 2pm the next day.”
At one time, the live-in Bunnies would each be given a weekly allowance of £630, but in later years, it’s said that free room and board was all they could expect.
The girls also said they were relieved that Hef’s appetite for sex had gone downhill by the time they moved in, with his age, ill health and marriage to Crystal finally making him a faithful husband.
Carla said: “In the past he would have slept with all the girls.
“We’ve heard stories about him having 16 girls in the grotto and once he’d finished they would be passed on to the next man there.
“But now it’s not like that. To be honest, he’s so old now I couldn’t imagine him trying to make a move. He has to walk with people around him because he’s frail.”
There was also a strict code of conduct at the Mansion.
Melissa said: “If you do something wrong, you’ll get an email. There’s a strict code of conduct. There are even rules about Instagram and Twitter. You’ve got to show everything in a good light and if you’re drunk in a picture you’ll be in trouble.”
Left to rot and stripped by looters
After Hugh’s death at the age of 91 in 2017, the Mansion was left to rot and was even reportedly stripped by looters.
Hef had actually sold it the year before his death - to billionaire Daren Metropoulos for $100 million - but had been allowed to continue living there.
And after he was gone, reports emerged that the house had been stripped bare, with looters taking everything from the pictures on the walls to the bed sheets and sex toys.
A source told US magazine Globe: “The bedrooms - even Hef’s - were stripped of things like sex toys, gold-plated statues, used sheets and lingerie.
“Valuable art was snatched from the walls - with imprints of the frames still visible.”
The Mansion’s famous grotto was also said to be left damaged, with pieces of rock chipped away from people looking for a souvenir.
It’s also been said that the Mansion was very run down, with maintenance having been “deferred” for a long period of time.
It’s said the lack of work that had been done was partly down to the fact that Hef was so fond of the 1980s decor and didn’t want to change anything.
But last year, it was reported that the Mansion’s new owner was going to give it a much-needed makeover - no matter how much it cost.
Pictures showed renovations to the house’s main structure getting under way and the pool drained and grounds being torn up.
Mr Metropoulos said in a statement that he’d told Hef about his plans long before he put them into action.
He said: “I’m extremely passionate about its architecture and look forward to this momentous opportunity to transform one of the finest estates in the country.
“As Mr Hefner was aware, I plan to meticulously refurbish the property with the highest quality and standards in mind.”
Dark secrets exposed
Since Hef’s death, a number of his former partners and Bunnies have come forward with allegations about the seedy things that went on behind closed doors.
Hef’s ex-girlfriend Sondra Theodore, who dated him from 1976 to 1981, has claimed that she once walked in on him engaging in sex acts with a dog.
She said on documentary series Secrets of Playboy, which airs in the USA on the A&E Network: “I walked in once and he was... to my dog, to our dog.
“I was like, ‘What are you doing?’ He says, ‘Well, dogs have needs.’ And I said, ‘Stop that’.”
The former model added: “I never left him alone with the dog again. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
Twins Karissa and Kristina Shannon have made claims that Hef gave them drugs known as ‘leg spreaders’ and plied them with alcohol and drugs.
They also gave grim details about Hef’s bedtime routine, which they witnessed during the two years they lived there.
Kristina claimed: “He pulled out silk pyjamas from Italy and we put them on. He pulled out this big pill like the type a horse would take. It was quaalude, which we found out he used all the time.”
Karissa added: “He told us the drugs would help with our anxiety. We smoked some pot. We felt frozen at first but after a while the pill made us loose and fuzzy.
“He kept saying, ‘My babies, my babies’, and cradling us as we lay either side of him. He told us to call him ‘Papa’.”
Much more has been said about what life was like inside the Mansion, with it even being referred to as a “cult”.
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