Hugh Hefner's widow, Crystal Hefner, spoke solely to Us Weekly about her resolution to drop the Playboy founder's well-known final identify, revealing she lastly feels “in the fitting place” to let go of her previous.
On Thursday, July 17, Crystal revealed to Us why she goes again to her maiden identify of Harris, eight years after Hugh's loss of life.
The mannequin, who wed Hugh in 2012, defined, “There's all the time been numerous noise round why I saved the Hefner identify. I had so many individuals assuming it was for consideration or clout. However the reality is, it was much more private and sophisticated than that. Holding onto that identify wasn't about fame — it was about survival.”
Crystal, 39, stated, “Whenever you undergo one thing as intense and all-consuming as that chapter of my life, you don't simply snap your fingers and reinvent your self. It's important to peel again the layers, face the trauma, and slowly come again to who you actually are.”
The previous Ladies Subsequent Door star stated, “I didn't understand how a lot of myself I had misplaced. The identify wasn't a highlight — it was a shadow I lived underneath for years whereas I labored by every thing that got here with it.”
“And whereas there have been moments I thought of altering it sooner, I wasn't emotionally prepared,” Crystal advised Us. “I needed to reclaim me first, and that took time, power, and numerous readability. So no, it wasn't about consideration. It was about survival, identification, and finally, therapeutic.”
When requested why now looks like the fitting time to alter her identify that comes with such an iconic historical past, Crystal defined, she needed to return to her personal roots: “I'm lastly in a spot the place I really feel grounded, entire, and at peace. Altering my identify isn't about erasing the previous — it's about reclaiming my identification.”
“It's a homecoming. Harris is who I used to be earlier than the world advised me who to be, and it's who I'm now, after coming full circle,” she stated.
Crystal advised Us she sees the authorized identify change as a “large step” that's each “emotional” and “symbolic.”
“It represents closure, readability and the selection to maneuver ahead in alignment with who I've change into,” she defined. “It's shedding a reputation that when outlined me and stepping right into a model of myself that feels utterly free, genuine, and powerful.”
Crystal advised Us she is going to “all the time carry that a part of my life,” however “that point in my life has handed.”
She stated she's “prepared for what's subsequent.”
A number of stars are taking the following step of their relationship in 2025 by making issues official with their important different. Days after the New 12 months, Zendaya sparked engagement hypothesis when she was noticed on the 2025 Golden Globes crimson carpet with a hoop on her left hand. Whereas contained in the awards present ceremony on January […]
As for what the longer term holds, Crystal advised Us she's already planning her wedding ceremony with fiancé James Ward for spring 2026: “Someplace close to the ocean,” she stated. “We haven't finalized all the small print but, however we're taking our time and having fun with the method.”
Crystal stated her resolution to alter her identify was indirectly due to her upcoming marriage however stated it “aligns completely with this new chapter we're coming into collectively.”
And whilst Crystal and James, whom she met in 2024, make it official as husband and spouse, the creator is doing it her approach and breaking away from the norm: “I'm conserving my [last] identify. I'm conserving my identification,” she stated.
“My relationship with James is rooted in mutual love and respect, not custom for custom's sake. I do know who I'm, and that's not altering,” she ended.
