Holly Madison says Playboy Mansion felt like a 'safe harbor' after she encountered Hollywood's dark side

Holly Madison quickly discovered that beneath Hollywood's glitz and glamour lurked a much darker reality.

The former Playboy Bunny is returning as the host of Investigation Discovery's true-crime series, "Lethally Blonde," which explores real cases where beauty and fame collide with murder and scandal.

The "Girls Next Door" alum told Fox News Digital she wants viewers — especially wide-eyed hopefuls bound for Los Angeles — to recognize the red flags hidden behind Hollywood's allure.

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"I felt pretty quickly when I moved to L.A. that Hollywood was an unsafe environment," said the mother of two. "Being a 19-year-old from the middle of nowhere who just moved to LA, you would get people who approached you on the street and wanted to get you into escorting and things like that. [You're thinking], 'Oh my God, danger's right around every corner.'"

"To me, when I went to the Playboy Mansion for a pool party, to me that seemed like a safe harbor," she admitted. "Of course, once I got on the inside, it’s a lot more complicated than that. But I saw it as a safe harbor in the beginning because I heard so many crazy Hollywood stories. And you just meet people out on the street who you know have bad intentions. It can be a scary place."

The 46-year-old, who grew up in Alaska and Oregon, dreamed of having a successful modeling career like Marilyn Monroe and Pamela Anderson. After settling in Los Angeles, Madison moved into the Playboy Mansion when she was 21 years old.

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"I think what probably surprised me [about Hollywood's celebrity culture] was just how deep the cult mentality can be. I definitely was in the thick of it," she explained.

"Obviously, being a young girl from a small town, I knew what it felt like to look at anybody famous. They were really cool [and you had] stars in your eyes. But I think I was surprised to see how pervasive that mentality is, even among people who'd been in Hollywood for a number of years."

"I think [I was] surprised by how deeply the cult-like mentality can form around one famous person or multiple famous people," she noted.

Madison said that in the entertainment industry's high-stakes world, people chasing their big break will do just about anything to succeed.

"When I was in the Playboy world, I knew of a woman who had lied about her age to become a centerfold," Madison said. 

"And before the centerfold was published, she did admit that she lied about her age, so the whole thing got scrapped. But I sometimes think when you’re that young person, you want the opportunity so badly, you can be willing to lie about your age. And inside, you feel like an adult, you feel like you can handle these things. Sometimes you can’t."

"When I was young and first trying to get into the entertainment industry myself, you’d hear cautionary tales now and again, and some basic safety advice," she reflected. "But I don’t think the power imbalance between older people in power and younger people who want to be in the industry can ever truly be clear to you until you are older yourself."

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"You can be aware of it to a point when you’re young," Madison stressed. "That’s why I think it’s important to share stories like these, so people, young women, can be aware."

Madison was Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s girlfriend from 2001 to 2008, despite a 53-year age gap. Hefner was known for having multiple girlfriends at the same time — at one point, as many as seven.

She previously alleged to Fox News Digital that as one of Hefner’s girlfriends, there were strict rules to follow, including maintaining a no-nonsense 9 p.m. curfew. Madison also claimed that all of Hefner’s girlfriends had to maintain a certain look, and they couldn’t date other men or have an apartment of their own.

Madison left the Playboy Mansion in 2008. Eight years later, she published the memoir "Down the Rabbit Hole," in which she alleged she experienced years of verbal and emotional abuse while living there. She has also repeatedly described the mansion environment as "cult-like."

Before he died in 2017 at age 91, Hefner accused Madison of rewriting history. Madison has continued to stand by her account.

Since leaving the Playboy Mansion, Madison has built a successful second act as an author and podcaster, sharing candid insights about Hollywood and her own experiences.

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"I think it’s very difficult to reinvent yourself when you’ve come onto the scene with a property that’s so memorable," she said. "And ‘Girls Next Door’ was very memorable, and Playboy’s very memorable. So it’s very hard to pivot and completely divorce yourself from that."

"I went through a phase where I didn’t want to talk about anything from my past at all because I wanted to completely start fresh," said Madison. "But I’ve just come to a place now where I just embrace it. I do what I want to do. And if other people want to think I’m only what I was in the past, that’s fine. I’m just going to do what I want to do. 

"I would say my advice to anybody out there who wants to reinvent themselves is just go for it. Do what makes you happy. Be who you want to be. Don’t let the past be a chip on your shoulder. Think of it as other people’s problem."

Madison urges any woman wanting to pursue show business not to make decisions too quickly.

"Never be afraid to take time to read a contract," she warned. "Take your time. Especially if you’re ambitious, there’s a feeling of, ‘I need to get it done now.’ I definitely thought that when I was younger, but it doesn’t hurt to take a breath. And there are so many ways you can break through these days. Through social media, there are so many ways you can create your own thing. So I would say to just take your time and follow what feels right for you."

"I call it a high-stakes environment when you’re involved in some kind of [situation] where there’s a lot of competition, and maybe your looks and your youth could land you a lot of money or a good gig. 

"People can get really competitive. That brings out all kinds of jealousies and heightened emotions, which can play into these cases. There are also predators of all kinds in the industry. So there are a lot of warning signs. … Some of these worlds can be so seductive, you truly don’t see them."

Looking back, there’s one thing Madison would have done differently.

"[I would have] taken more pictures and kept more receipts," she said.