Holly Madison believes her undiagnosed autism brought her to the Playboy Mansion at the young and impressionable age of 21.
The former Playboy Playmate, 45, was diagnosed in 2023 after first publicly sharing her suspicions two years ago.
She told Page Six in an exclusive interview that the news wasn’t a shock (in fact, she recalls being “a relief”), as she always knew she had “some kind of social and relationship difficulties.”
But for most of her life, she told herself it was because she “grew up in a really remote part of Alaska.”
But as she grew older, her ex-husband, Pasquale Rotella (with whom she has two children), approached her mother about his troubles building a relationship with his then-wife.
Her mother told Rotella that she always felt “something was going on” with her eldest daughter.
So, after “a series of seven interviews,” Madison was told she had high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. According to Autism Speaks, high-functioning autism spectrum disorder refers to a wide range of symptoms characterized by difficulties with social skills, repetitive behaviors, language, and nonverbal communication.
The Girls Next Door star believes that’s why she “fell in love” with Hugh Hefner, who is more than 50 years her senior. For seven years, Madison and several other busty blondes lived with the late adult magazine founder, who expected them to have sex around the clock.
“For a long time, I had trouble relating to people, so when I met someone who was older and more experienced and a little more manipulative, I thought, ‘Oh, wow, maybe I’m better suited to be with an older man. Maybe this is what it’s about.'” It just felt like love, she said.
“It definitely reveals where my emotions were, my motivations, and why I felt a certain way about things.”
If she had “known what[she was]getting into,” Madison theorizes, “maybe I would have handled it a little bit differently.”
Although she has no “regrets” about the direction her life has taken, the co-host of the “Girls Next Level” podcast notes that her autism is an “interesting” and important part of her story.
Later this month, Madison will make her first major public appearance since revealing her diagnosis as an event ambassador for the 2025 Grant-A-Gift Gala in Las Vegas. This event raises vital funds for children and young people surviving autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
Despite her high-profile past, Madison insists she is essentially a “private” person with a reserved “temperament.”
But when she was diagnosed, she knew she had a “responsibility” to use her platform to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and highlight the urgent need for expanded services and support.
