Congratulations to Crystal Harris and her current husband, James Ward.
The former Playboy model, 39, who was married to Hugh Hefner for five years before his death in 2017, eloped with Ms Ward, 42, in a romantic island ceremony on Aitutaki, one of the Cook Islands, on Thursday.
“We chose the Cook Islands because it’s remote,” Harris said in an interview with People magazine published Saturday.
“With no big chain hotels, it feels incredibly quiet and authentic. It’s also home to one of the most beautiful lagoons in the world. James and I both love the ocean and nature, so it felt like the perfect place to start this chapter of our lives,” she continued.
The couple worked with wedding coordinator Sandy Brown, who helped them plan a “truly peaceful” ceremony that was “simple, elegant and nautical-inspired.”
“Because the wedding was small, we were able to focus on the meaningful details rather than managing a large event,” Harris added.
“We didn’t want a large-scale production. We wanted something quiet and personal, where we could really be present with each other and the moment.”
The model walked down the aisle wearing Oksana Muka’s “Margo” dress. The white, fitted, long-sleeved lace dress featured more than 5,400 Swarovski crystals.
“They messaged me and when they saw the dress, they immediately fell in love with it,” Harris told the magazine. “It reminded me of a Disney princess dress. It’s romantic, timeless, and very feminine.”
Ward couldn’t help but gush about his new bride as he told the outlet everything he loved about Harris.
“Crystal’s heart, especially for me and all non-human creatures, is remarkable. She is endowed with generosity and kindness that I have never seen before in all living things, big and small. She is the classiest, smartest, most adventure-seeking partner I could have ever asked for. My life is better in every way now, and I feel like the luckiest man in my life to have had her with me.”
Ward asked Harris to marry him in April 2025 after a year of dating, with an impressive 6-carat mine-cut diamond set in Harris’ Hawaii home.
“It really feels like a full-circle moment. James completely surprised me. He cleared out hidden staircases and winding paths to reveal a hand-built deck atop a dramatic cliff overlooking the ocean,” Harris told Us Weekly about the engagement at the time.
“It was the very spot where we had had a quiet picnic together a year earlier, a place that had truly become ‘ours’. Little did we know that he was secretly turning it into something permanent and iconic,” she said.
The two met through a mutual friend. In September 2024, Harris raved about her partner, claiming that unlike in previous relationships, her feelings towards Ward were “valued” and “validated”.
“I’m nurturing my true self, my sense of adventure, my inner child,” she says of her current relationship.
“I feel like I’ve become the person I’ve always wanted to be since I was a kid. I feel accepted and I’m more myself than ever before.”
