Hugh Hefner's widow, Crystal Hefner, has revealed that she lost "thousands" of followers on social media after removing everything "fake" from her body, including her breast implants, and deleting images in which she showed off her cleavage and wore skimpy clothing.
In an Instagram post, the former Playboy bunny wrote about how her following had changed since taking a more modest approach online while also opening up about her changing mindset.
"Over five years, my account has shifted from not always safe for work posts to my REAL safe for work life," she wrote. "The real me. I was living for other people before, to make others happy, suffering internally in the process."
Crystal noted that she grew her following during her years modeling for Playboy, when she would often post photos of herself in scantily clad clothing, wearing layers of makeup and revealing cleavage. Crystal noted that she was not sure whether it made her feel empowered or whether she felt it was expected of her, but she has found a new sense of empowerment in modesty.
"I removed everything fake from my body and deleted all my old photos," she wrote. "I am more authentic, vulnerable and feel that I belong more to myself. I am mine."
In her Instagram post, Crystal also admitted she was concerned about how her social media accounts would survive as she made her transition. She described seeing followers "drop by the thousands every day."
"I was watching the girls that had similar pages keep posting the same scantily clad stuff and growing exponentially while I tanked hard," she recalled.
However, as she became more modest, Crystal found that her female following grew.
"Now I truly feel I have an army of supporters that care and see an actual soul behind the lens. For that I thank you," she added.
Crystal previously revealed that she removed her breast implants in 2016, after claiming they had contributed towards various health problems, according to the Daily Mail. In January last year, she also admitted she nearly died while undergoing a fat transfer three months earlier.
"Our culture is a trap and makes women feel terrible about themselves," she wrote in an Instagram post at the time, according to the Daily Mail. "Movies (84.9% directed by men) make it worse. Social media makes it worse. Advertisements make it worse. Physically fake people make it worse (I was one of them)."
Crystal pointed out that women are "overly sexualized" — something she had first-hand experience with.
"For ten years my value was based on how good my physical body looked," she explained. "I was rewarded and made a living based on my outer appearance. To this day I need to write reminders of why I'm worthy that have nothing to do with my physical appearance to convince myself that I'm enough."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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