In 2005, the pilot episode of The Girl Next Door aired on E! — a reality show co-produced by the late Playboy magazine founder, Hugh Hefner. The original idea was to focus on the millionaire's salacious lifestyle inside his mansion. But after interviewing his girlfriends at that time, E! decided to switch to a female perspective.
Seasons 1 to 5 followed the lives of Hefner's girlfriends, Bridget Marquardt, Holly Madison, and Kendra Wilkinson. A younger batch of girlfriends joined in the sixth and final season — 19-year-old identical twins, Kristina and Karissa Shannon and 23-year-old Crystal Harris, Hef's third and last wife. Advertised as six times the fun, season 6 was many times the drama as well.
Madison, Wilkinson, and Marquardt had already ended their relationship with Hefner before the last season. But their contracts obligated them to keep filming. Once the series wrapped in 2010, the three went on to spill the truth about their friendship. Madison was the first to reveal that she and Wilkinson were never friends. Wilkinson echoed the statement, adding that she was never friends with Marquardt either.
According to her, they were all different. Hefner's death in 2017 only sparked more drama. Recently, Madison reignited her beef with Wilkinson. Former co-stars have also weighed in. It made fans wonder, where's the cast of The Girls Next Door today?
Holly Madison: The Bombshell With An Explosive Tell-All
41-year-old Holly Madison has been able to keep her name on the headlines following the reality show's end. She starred in her own 2-season spinoff series, Holly's World from 2009 to 2011. She joined Dancing with the Stars season 8 in 2009 and landed a minor role in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation the following year. Madison was also in the burlesque show, "Peepshow" in Planet Hollywood Las Vegas from 2009 to 2012. She married businessman and film producer Pasquale Rotella in 2013.
They called it quits in 2019. They share two children — daughter Rainbow, 8, and 5-year-old son Forest.
In 2015, Madison released her hit memoir Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny. Suddenly, she was in every magazine and talk show.
Her bold claims about the "reality" of living in the mansion led to tensions with Kendra Wilkinson and the Playboy founder himself. "Despite my attempts to befriend Kendra, she continued to push me away," Madison wrote about her relationship with Wilkinson.
She also wrote explicit descriptions of Wilkinson's life as Hef's 19-year-old girlfriend. In 2016, Madison released her second memoir The Vegas Diaries: Romance, Rolling the Dice and the Road to Reinvention and Wilkinson fired back with even more graphic details about Madison's "shameful" life in the mansion. Fast forward to 2021: the two are still feuding.
Kendra Wilkinson Is Selling Hollywood These Days
Wilkinson, 36, also competed in Dancing with the Stars and landed her own E! spinoff show, Kendra (2009-2011). The series focused on Wilkinson's new life following her exit from the Playboy Mansion. It documented her engagement and marriage to former NFL player Hank Baskett, as well as her life as a first-time mother. From 2012 to 2017, WE tv aired Kendra On Top which continued to document the Basketts' life at home; this time, as parents of two children — daughter Alijah Mary, 7, and 11-year-old Hank Baskett IV.
In 2014, Baskett cheated on Wilkinson while she was pregnant with Alijah. The Girls Next Door star reportedly threw her wedding ring in the toilet when she found out that the football player had cheated on her with transgender model, Ava Sabrina London.
Later that year, they decided to work things out. But sources revealed the next year that the former Playboy bunny was still upset about Baskett's infidelity. They said she only stayed in the marriage for the kids. In 2018, she finally filed for divorce. Now a single mom, Wilkinson has recently moved on to real estate. Her adventures as a new realtor are chronicled in her upcoming 6-part docuseries, Kendra Sells Hollywood.
Bridget Marquardt Is Now A Ghost Playmate
After The Girls Next Door, Marquardt also achieved individual success. She hosted Bridget's Sexiest Beaches in 2009 and appeared in movies like The House Bunny, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Entourage. But what's fascinating is that from comically investigating paranormal activities in the Playboy Mansion, she's now a ghost enthusiast with her own podcast show, Ghost Magnet with Bridget Marquardt.
The former playmate also found love in director, Nick Carpenter in 2009. They've been engaged since 2015.
The 47-year-old paranormal investigator has also spoken about Madison and Wilkinson's feud. "This is what I told Kendra, 'She's writing about her experience and this is how she's reflecting on it and she has a right to do that,'" Marquardt told Hollywood Today Live. She said she's not picking sides and that she advised Wilkinson not to lash out at Madison.
Kristina & Karissa Shannon: Centerfold Twins Turned Business Duo
After the series, Kristina and Karissa Shannon joined season 9 of Celebrity Big Brother. They also had small parts in Sofia Coppola's 2010 drama film, Somewhere. The Shannon twins are now co-owners of the Glam Beverly Hills salon in Los Angeles.
They often hang out with Blac Chyna these days. In 2018, they signed a 7-figure deal with Brazzers, one of the largest pornography companies in the industry.
Crystal Harris Went From Mrs. Hefner To Independent Influencer
Crystal Harris, 35, co-designed a swimwear line for Veve Glamor Swimwear in 2012 post-Girls Next Door. She was diagnosed with Lyme disease and toxic mold in 2016. It prompted her to have her breast implants removed. Harris was married to Hefner until his death.
However, she wasn't entitled to his estate so she didn't inherit anything except for a house in Hollywood which he bought for her. She sold it in 2019 for $5 million — now her current estimated net worth. Hef's widow is now a lifestyle blogger and influencer. She's been dating SpaceX engineer Nathan Levi since July 2020.
When asked about the drama with her former co-stars, she said, "So much time has passed. I side with Kendra here."
Wilkinson alleges that Madison's claims about her time in the mansion were all false and that they should just move on. "Not sure why these women who shared an incredibly uncommon and rare experience (that will never be repeated in our lifetimes) can't get along?" Harris continued. "Maybe for the same reasons Holly and Bridget despise me for absolutely NO reason. I hope one day we can all get along and compare experiences." We hope that day will come, too.
