Kendra Wilkinson is ripping the lid off her turbulent past at the Playboy Mansion—and her truth is turning heads. In a raw new interview, the Girls Next Door star, now 38, admits she was “absolutely” sexualized as a teenager living on the estate but insists, “I always felt safe.”
Wilkinson, who moved into the mansion at 18 years old in 2004, became a household name alongside Hugh Hefner’s then-girlfriends Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt on the hit E! reality series. But behind the glitz, she says her youth was overshadowed by hyper-sexualized expectations. “Let’s be real—I was a kid thrown into a world of adult fantasies,” she reveals. “The outfits, the parties, the vibe…it was a lot. But Hef? He made me feel protected. I never feared for my safety there.”
Her comments come amid a cultural reckoning around Playboy’s legacy, with former playmates and partners criticizing the brand’s treatment of women. Yet Wilkinson’s take is strikingly nuanced. “I won’t downplay the exploitation,” she says, “but my experience was my own. I didn’t feel like a victim then, and I don’t know.”
Fans know Wilkinson’s post-Playboy life has been a rollercoaster—from marriage and motherhood to battling anxiety and a public divorce. Today, the mom of two is rebuilding her life, hosting a mental health-focused podcast, and reflecting on her past with clarity. “Back then, I was surviving,” she admits. “Now? I’m thriving. I own my story—the good, the messy, all of it.”
Could her candidness spark new debates about power, consent, and the price of fame? Absolutely. But for Kendra, it’s about reclaiming her truth: “I’m not here to rewrite history. I’m just showing how I survived it.”