What is Crystal Harris' net worth? Hugh Hefner's widow got $7M payout and inherited $5M house after his death
Crystal Harris started dating the late Playboy millionaire Hugh Hefner in January 2009. The relationship was not out of the ordinary for Hefner, who was known for his prolific dating life and even dating multiple women at the time. But when the pair got engaged in December 2010, many started paying attention.
Almost seven months later, Harris broke off their engagement -- just five days before their wedding, before the July issue of Playboy magazine that year hit the stores which featured Harris on the cover and in a photo spread, with the cover headline reading, "Introducing America's Princess, Mrs Crystal Hefner." After Harris vanished, however, Hefner had stickers saying "Runaway Bride" affixed over her picture on the cover.
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Hefner and Harris reconciled the following year and got married on December 31, 2012, with close family members attending. Now, Harris has opened up in an interview with The Sun about the details of her relationship with Hefner, what led her to leave and what led her to come back.
The engagement, 'Runaway Bride', and reconciliation
Harris told The Sun that starting a relationship with Hefner began a period of existence she dubs her "golden cage." Hefner started to control everything she did and if she were late for anything, he would panic staff into finding her. Harris said, "I came to rely on him so much that I didn’t really have a life outside of him."
Harris also recalled, "At one point he told me, ‘when you start doing things away from the relationship, that’s when it ends’. He made it clear that if I travelled on my own or did things on my own, we were over. We had a love and respect for each other, definitely, but I became so intertwined that I lost myself in his set up. And it all happened so quickly. We became each other’s little world.”
After Hefner proposed to Harris -- which did not see Hefner going down on one knee, but instead handing her a ring and saying that he hoped it fit -- Harris felt everything was moving too quickly. She said, "They wanted to do a TV show called Marrying Hef that was going to air and I just wasn’t sure. So I left. I felt overwhelmed and trapped. But I didn’t know how to leave either. I slowly moved my stuff out and when I was down to the last couple of items I said I was going to the store – and I didn’t come back."
Harris felt bad about leaving Hefner alone but she said she felt trapped and that her life was "dictated" to her. She then fled to Australia. However, when Hefner's secretary contacted her saying that the millionaire was pining, she met him again, saying he was a "completely different person."
Harris said, "Before women would come in to test for being a Playmate and you would see the womanizing side of Hef. When I went back in 2011 the most beautiful woman you’d ever see would walk in with everything on display and Hef would say ‘Have you met my wife Crystal?’" She later added, "Hef had realized what was most important in life, even it took him until he was 85. And he treated me completely different for the rest of his life. He treated me with respect.”
What is Crystal Harris' net worth?
When Hefner died in 2017 at the age of 91, Harris was distraught. She told the publication, "I did not expect it to happen like that. Hef had really good genes. I thought he would be around for a long time. He was such a powerful person. It felt like he was immortal.”
Harris was never in her husband's will and the couple had signed a pre-nuptial agreement, which meant that Hefner's $45 million fortune was split between his four children, a university, and different charities.
However, as Harris was married to Hefner at the time of his death, she was entitled to a substantial payout, which The Sun reported was worth $7 million cash. She also inherited a Hollywood Hills house worth $5 million, which she went on to sell.
The exact figure of Harris's current net worth is not known, but it is estimated to be between $5 million and $10 million.