‘House of horrors’: Inside the termite-ridden and black mould-filled Playboy Mansion

Growing up in the 2000s, seeing the Playboy Mansion on an episode of Cribs felt like the pinnacle of unattainable luxury. I remember the first time I saw the pool had a grotto in it I almost fell off the sofa. But all these years later, ex wife of Hugh Hefner Crystal claims that Hef’s infamous Playboy Mansion was a house of horrors, filled with mould issues that caused her health problems and it’s honestly gross.

Crystal Hefner was married to Hugh Hefner for the last five years of his life, and when he died she wrote a tell all memoir titled Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself and over the last year has claimed some revelations about the state of the mansion and how the dirt affected her health.

‘The house was literally making me sick’

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In her book, Crystal Hefner says that she felt the house was permanently stuck in the 70s, and that the aesthetic was like Hugh had frozen time and never updated anything or renovated a thing.

“This was a beautiful English Tudor home – and my family is from England – on five acres in the middle of LA. But over time, I saw that this place doesn’t really get cleaned that well and there’s mold. It just felt rundown and gross after a while.”

Crystal claims the mould and squalor of the Playboy Mansion caused her health issues including anxiety and brain fog. She says “The whole time the mansion was breaking me down, one way or another. Now it was breaking down my health. The house was literally making me sick.”

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She said “everything was mouldy and dusty” and that Hefner was hoarding – which can be seen in a 2010 video Crystal posted on YouTube where there is literally tat everywhere. She said in an interview there was “mould everywhere. There’s fungus in these vents right above where you’ve been sitting for the last eight years.” Hugh Hefner let her organise the home and the mansion underwent a $2.5 million mould restoration.

Legionnaire’s disease

In 2011, 123 people caught fever and respiratory illnesses after attending an event at the Playboy Mansion. After an investigation it was discovered that the grotto contained Legionella’s pneumophila which causes Legionnaire’s disease. Gross.

After Hugh Hefner’s passing, the iconic Playboy Mansion underwent an extensive $10 million renovation. Building permits revealed that the property required significant structural repairs before any aesthetic improvements could begin, including remediation for water damage, termite infestations, and dry rot. Spearheaded by billionaire Daren Metropoulos, the transformation brought modern luxury to the mansion.

The updates included the addition of a high-end jacuzzi spa, a single-story solarium, and a 4,000-square-foot expansion to the underground level. The screening room was also enlarged, and a state-of-the-art golf simulator was installed, blending old Hollywood charm with contemporary amenities.

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