Holly Madison SPEAKS OUT About Kendra Wilkinson & Crystal Hefner’s Book
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00:00 So, Holly, first of all, congrats on the new season of Girls Next Level.
00:04 Thank you.
00:05 What can you tease about what's to come this season?
00:07 Well, we love doing this show because every episode of Girls Next Door inspires some kind
00:11 of topic we really want to talk about, whether it's body image issues or interpersonal dynamics
00:15 between females.
00:17 We also have some guests coming up who I can't reveal, but I think people will be really
00:20 surprised that they're even doing our show.
00:22 So I'm excited about it.
00:24 That was one thing I was going to ask.
00:25 If you could pick a dream guest of anyone, who would be your dream guest to be on Girls
00:29 Next Level?
00:30 We always pick guests that are really specific to the world we're talking about.
00:33 I think if I could pick anybody, probably I think the listeners would love to hear from
00:37 Pamela Anderson, because I think when she was a playmate in the 90s, it was so different
00:42 from when we were there.
00:43 And she's had so many fun career moments that I'd love to ask her about.
00:46 And since launching the podcast, has anyone reached out to you from your past or maybe
00:51 people who lived in the mansion that surprised you at all?
00:53 Yeah.
00:54 I mean, I wrote a book about my life at the mansion back in 2015, and I kind of assumed
00:58 everybody would hate me for it.
00:59 So I just didn't talk to a lot of people.
01:02 But a lot of people have reached out over social media and wanted to come on the podcast
01:05 and playmates who did so the first season and things like that.
01:08 And it's really been a great, fun excuse to get back in touch with all these people from
01:12 back in the day.
01:13 And obviously fans love your dynamic with Bridget.
01:16 What's your favorite thing about working with her on this?
01:18 I think it's so much fun just to catch up on the good times.
01:22 We talk about a lot of traumatic stuff too, but this podcast has allowed me to really
01:26 reclaim the good times as well and recognize that those were a thing too.
01:30 So it's a lot of fun just to catch up.
01:32 And we just die laughing every single episode because we remind each other of these funny
01:36 things that we forgot about.
01:38 And can you share with fans where your relationship with Kendra stands these days?
01:42 I haven't spoken to her in a long time.
01:44 We always say we'd love to have her on the podcast if she wanted to, but I also completely
01:48 respect the fact that she doesn't want to talk about it.
01:50 I think if people are moving in a different direction in their life and kind of want to
01:53 leave the past behind, they should totally be allowed to do that.
01:56 And obviously there were so many fun things that you and the girls did while you were
01:59 on Girls Next Door.
02:00 Like you went to the Madonna Inn, you went to Vegas together.
02:03 You had so many fun memories.
02:05 What were some of your personal favorite memories from being on Girls Next Door?
02:09 I think it was being able to travel when it was just the girls.
02:11 That was always really fun.
02:12 Like you mentioned the Madonna Inn and that was one of my favorite memories.
02:15 And I've gone back to the Madonna Inn regularly since then.
02:17 So it's become a little staple in my life.
02:20 I have to tell you, I just booked...
02:22 I watched your video on the Madonna Inn.
02:24 I had to book it and I booked it.
02:26 You'll love it.
02:27 It's so fun.
02:28 And you have to eat at the steakhouse.
02:29 They have this creepy doll swimming over the entryway.
02:31 There's so much to look at everywhere you turn.
02:33 Now creepy doll, I know that you're into kind of the paranormal.
02:36 Did you have any paranormal experiences while you were there?
02:39 Oh yeah, Bridget and I both did.
02:41 Oh, you mean at the Madonna Inn or the mansion?
02:43 Either one.
02:44 Not the Madonna Inn yet.
02:45 I probably haven't spent enough time there, but the mansion was definitely haunted.
02:49 We saw stuff, heard stuff, all the things.
02:51 And then I was also going to ask, was there anything you forgot entirely about living
02:56 at the mansion that maybe you remembered when you were rewatching the series?
03:01 I can't think off the top of my head, but every episode there's kind of something, some
03:04 little thing.
03:05 My memory's pretty good, so I remember a lot of it, but every once in a while something
03:09 will pop up.
03:10 There's a whole new generation, I feel like, who are just learning about Girls Next Door
03:13 for the first time, be it through TikTok or social media.
03:16 How does it feel seeing so many young fans getting introduced to you and this world for
03:21 the first time?
03:22 I love seeing younger people who are interested in it.
03:24 I think the show is so much more fascinating now because not only is it this crazy, colorful,
03:30 kind of fun thing to look at like it was back then, but you also know that there's a backstory
03:33 behind it too and that you're not seeing the whole thing, so you can kind of watch it at
03:37 these different levels, I feel like.
03:39 I don't know if you've seen, but the Y2K aesthetic has totally come back.
03:43 It's back in style.
03:44 What do you think about how that's had this resurgence on social media?
03:48 I love being on TikTok and just seeing how younger people are so interested in so many
03:52 different eras and they love the aesthetics of different eras because I was always like
03:55 that.
03:56 I always liked, you know, looking back and picking different aesthetics and cosplay and
04:00 stuff like that, so I love seeing it.
04:02 And I know in the 2000s specifically, there were a lot of pressures, I feel like, with
04:07 beauty standards and the media and like how people are viewed.
04:11 Do you think things have changed for the better since then?
04:14 Yeah, I definitely think things have changed for the better.
04:16 Obviously things aren't perfect, but there's a lot more open discussion about everything,
04:19 particularly body image, and I think that's really healthy.
04:23 And we also talked a lot about your podcast, but you were on another podcast, Trisha Paytas.
04:28 What was that experience like?
04:29 Because fans were loving your episode.
04:30 Oh, it was so fun.
04:31 I love Trisha.
04:32 She's my favorite on TikTok.
04:34 Every day it's a new look, a new cosplay for her, and we just had so much fun together
04:38 catching up.
04:39 But one thing I regret from that day is we didn't take a picture with her golf cart because
04:42 she got a golf cart made like I had in one of the episodes of Girls Next Door that I
04:46 was in my birthday.
04:47 The pink one.
04:48 Yeah, and I'm like, I left, and I'm like, "We didn't take a picture with your golf cart."
04:49 That would have been iconic.
04:50 I know, that would have been the thing to do, right?
04:52 Have you seen her Egyptian iconic TikTok yet?
04:55 Yes.
04:56 No, I'm obsessed with it.
04:57 Oh my God, I love it.
04:59 Now, you're such a force when it comes to pop culture.
05:02 Not only do you have a podcast, you were on an iconic reality show, you've written books,
05:06 you had a Vegas residency.
05:08 Is there anything that you would want to do that you haven't done yet?
05:12 I don't know.
05:13 I'm so into the podcast and into the true crime shows on ID.
05:17 I'm just really loving those right now.
05:20 So I don't know.
05:21 I'm sure there is something.
05:23 Speaking of true crime, so I know that you're fascinated with true crime.
05:27 What was it like being a part of the Playboy Murders, and can you tease anything about
05:30 season two?
05:31 Oh, the Playboy Murders was so fascinating.
05:33 When the production company came to me, they had all these cases lined out, some of them
05:37 that I hadn't even heard of.
05:38 And when I looked at the deck they put together for me, I was like, "I would watch this show."
05:42 So I was really passionate about getting into it.
05:44 I love real life stories, especially stories that are kind of like on the darker side of
05:48 life.
05:49 I think there's always things you can take away from those stories and learn from those
05:52 stories.
05:53 And season two, we have a whole variety of cases.
05:55 There's seven different cases.
05:56 They're all completely different.
05:57 I'm one of the people I knew, so that was kind of an emotional one to do, but I'm really
06:03 excited about the new season.
06:05 Now I know that you said you're really focused on the podcast and obviously we love that,
06:08 but fans, I mean, I'll just say it, I would love if you came out with another reality
06:13 show with Bridget.
06:14 Would that be something you'd ever be interested in?
06:16 I don't know.
06:17 The concept would have to be something new, but I don't know.
06:21 I'm kind of scared to do it because after doing a reality show so long and kind of handing
06:25 the edit over to somebody else's hands and they kind of make you look a certain way,
06:28 I feel like now I'm so entrenched in talking about what the behind the scenes and the real
06:33 thing is that I couldn't do that again in a way.
06:37 But I don't know, maybe somebody came up with an interesting idea.
06:39 Maybe you need to be the executive producer.
06:40 Yeah, that would have to be something.
06:43 Totally.
06:44 Now, obviously your kids are so adorable.
06:47 Thanks.
06:48 Fans love seeing the updates that you share with them.
06:50 What's your favorite thing about being a mom?
06:52 Just building the memories day by day.
06:54 I mean, my kids are so precious and everybody says this is so cliche, but it does go by
06:57 so fast.
06:58 So I try to make every day, along with getting the homework done and the bedtimes on time
07:02 and all that responsibility stuff, I just try to focus on building the best memories
07:06 I can for them at every age.
07:08 What do you think has surprised you the most about being a mom?
07:13 I think just learning who your kids are as people.
07:17 I think when I was younger, I assumed that my kids would be exactly like me and I'd be
07:20 able to understand them totally.
07:21 But of course they're not.
07:22 They're completely different human beings and you learn who they are every day and their
07:27 personalities come out more and more.
07:29 So that's been really interesting and fun and rewarding.
07:31 Earlier I mentioned that you're an author.
07:33 I read the books.
07:34 I'm obsessed.
07:35 I heard Crystal's also writing a book.
07:38 Has she reached out to you or do you have any advice that you'd give her?
07:41 She did.
07:42 We have talked about coming on the podcast, but Bridget and I love to keep everything
07:46 very chronological and we're not in season six yet.
07:49 So maybe someday, but I'm really excited to read her book.
07:51 I think there's probably a lot of stuff I'll be able to relate to.
07:54 And I've also been really curious about the time at the mansion after I left.
08:10 (upbeat music)