PLAYBOY mogul Hugh Hefner’s abused ex-lover says she warned him to stay away from her lookalike teen daughter because she feared he would lure her into a world of drugs and orgies.
Sondra Theodore says she had a “showdown” with the late lothario after he flirted with her then 18-year-old daughter Katie at the Playboy mansion.
Speaking in a new bonus episode of the hit A&E docuseries Secrets of Playboy, Theodore says she cut ties with Hefner and never returned to his home over her fears for Katie.
Theodore, 65, recently made headlines after she detailed how Hefner drugged girls, held group sex sessions and had a disturbing admiration for Charles Manson in previous episodes of the docuseries.
The former Playmate centerfold reveals that going public with her claims has helped her family understand her long-term trauma.
But she felt “chewed up and spat out” after hundreds of former Hefner employees and lovers signed an open letter denouncing the allegations made against Hefner, who died in 2017 aged 91.
Read More About Hugh Hefner
In the upcoming episode, former model Theodore explained that after her five-year romance with Hefner she stayed friends with him when she married his business associate Ray Manzella.
She told how she and other former Bunnies would attend the Playboy mansion for family days with their spouses and kids.
But Theodore says she snapped when Hefner, then in his 70s, began wooing Katie at one of the get-togethers.
Theodore said: “I saw him indoctrinating my daughter. He never touched her, but I would have killed him. The same thing (as me), he walks in and singles her out and makes her feel special.
“And I’d say: ‘You can’t have her. Don’t you touch her!'”
Sobbing, she added, “Yeah, because if he would have touched her I would just have died.”
Theodore explained that she hadn’t spoken out about Hefner earlier because it would mean admitting to her daughter Katie and son Taylor that “the fairytale turned into a nightmare”.
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“So many people counted on that fairytale, including my own children,” the former model said.
“My daughter grew up looking at those pictures thinking I’d been a princess.”
The former model went on to explain that speaking out about the abuse she suffered at Hefner’s hands helped her children to understand and move on.
She said: “By the end of the documentary they finally came around when their father said ‘Hef was not always a good guy he did some bad things to your mother.’
“That was the moment she [Katie] was able to let go of the fairytale too.
“That was a huge breaking point for us – for my child to accept.”
I saw him indoctrinating my daughter.
Sondra Theodore
Livid Theodore also addressed the critics who wrote the letter denouncing the claims made in the documentary.
She said she considered firing back at them online after losing lifetime friends and feeling that she had gone into “self-exile”.
The letter stated: “From all we know of Hef, he was a person of upstanding character, exceptional kindness, and dedication to free thought.
“He demonstrated a commitment to living an honest life beyond everything else.
“Our time within Hugh Hefner’s Playboy and the organization’s subsidiaries remains a period all of us are fond of.”
Commenting on the letter, Theodore said: “The warrior in me wanted to write back and go, are you kidding me?
“This will play out and by the end of the doc they will see the whole picture and come to their own truth – and they need to respect mine.
SPEAKING OUT
“Nobody can tell you your story is a lie. It is not their story. I am bringing to light part of the story.”
Following the release of the original 10 episodes of Secrets of Playboy in January, the company distanced itself from its founder in an open letter.
It said: “The Hefner family is no longer associated with Playboy, and today’s Playboy is not Hugh Hefner’s Playboy.
”We will continue to confront any parts of our legacy that do not reflect our values today, and to build upon the progress we have made as we evolve as a company so we can drive positive change for you and our communities.”
But Hefner’s son Cooper leaped to his defense, tweeting: “Some may not approve of the life my Dad chose, but my father was not a liar.
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“However unconventional, he was sincere in his approach and lived honestly. He was generous in nature and cared deeply for people.
“These salacious stories are a case study of regret becoming revenge.”
Secrets of Playboy Episode 12 “The Aftermath” premieres Monday, April 4 at 9pm ET/PT.
