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Meet the twins who moved into Playboy Mansion at 17: Karissa and Kristina Shannon opened up about their lives as Playmates, fraught relationship with Hugh Hefner, and hopes for the future

STORYSumnima Kandangwa
Kristina Shannon, Hugh Hefner and Karissa Shannon attend an event in Los Angeles in 2010. Photo: Getty Images
Kristina Shannon, Hugh Hefner and Karissa Shannon attend an event in Los Angeles in 2010. Photo: Getty Images
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The twins detailed their traumatic lives in the Playboy mansion, including a forced threesome with Hefner for their 19th birthday, in a new People interview, and share their plans for motherhood

Hugh Hefner’s ex-girlfriends and former Playboy Playmates Karissa and Kristina Shannon recently sat down for their first interview in six years with People.

In the tell-all interview published on April 27, the Shannon twins – who were only 17 when they moved into the Playboy mansion – detail their often traumatic years at the mansion and their 18-month relationship with the late publisher who died in 2017.

Karissa and Kristina Shannon with Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris at an event in California, in 2009. Photo: AP Photo
Karissa and Kristina Shannon with Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris at an event in California, in 2009. Photo: AP Photo
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“Everyone was saying we were going through our ‘Anna Nicole phase’,” Kristina told People about the unsettling years after the twins moved out of the Playboy mansion. “We gained weight. There was alcohol and pills. We were really unhealthy and lost and, even at points, suicidal. We had no one. It was just us, trying to figure it out after losing ourselves.”

Anna Nicole Smith was a former playmate who tragically died in 2007 after an accidental drug overdose. She was only 39 years old.

Now 35, the rarely seen twins are ready to make a comeback – but not without dishing about the drama of their years at the Playboy mansion.

Karissa Shannon and Kristina Shannon, then girlfriends of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, at a charity event in Los Angeles, in 2009. Photo: Getty Images
Karissa Shannon and Kristina Shannon, then girlfriends of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, at a charity event in Los Angeles, in 2009. Photo: Getty Images

From abortions, bullying, and being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, to finding Jesus -here’s everything to know about Karissa and Kristina Shannon.

They have been modelling since their teen years

Karissa Shannon and Kristina Shannon attend a launch party for The Travel Channel in 2009. Photo: Getty Images
Karissa Shannon and Kristina Shannon attend a launch party for The Travel Channel in 2009. Photo: Getty Images
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