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"Modesty is what empowers me these days," says Hugh Hefner's widow.
Crystal Hefner says she's finally put her Playboy past behind her.
Hugh Hefner's widow took to Instagram this week to celebrate the "real" her after shifting away from NSFW content. In her post, she opened up about making a conscious effort to change her image from her "Playboy years," despite an initial follower drop when she did so.
"After the last handful of years staying true to myself on social media, I feel that all the people here with me at this point actually care and are invested in my life in a positive way and for that I thank you," she began. "Over five years, my account has shifted from not always safe for work posts to my REAL safe for work life. The real me. I was living for other people before, to make others happy, suffering internally in the process."
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"As most of you know, I grew my following during my 'Playboy' years. Certain photos grow followings fast. In short, sex sells," she continued. "I don't know whether I felt empowered by dressing scantily clad, showing cleavage, etc ... or if I just felt it was expected of me or what ... but now I can confidently and 100% proudly say, modesty is what empowers me these days, and because it feels so much better internally, it will probably be this way for the rest of my life."
Hefner went on to say that she has "removed everything fake from my body and deleted all my old photos," likely referring to her 2016 decision to remove her breast implants because, as she said at the time, they were "slowly poisoning her." She added that now she feels "more authentic, vulnerable and feel that I belong more to myself. I am mine."
The 35-year-old said that while she consciously made this decision to change her image, she did wonder whether her Instagram account would "survive" the transition. She added that, in the beginning, she would see her "followers drop by the thousands every day" and it got so bad she was "in the red."
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"Every day. I was watching the girls that had similar pages keep posting the same scantily clad stuff and growing exponentially while I tanked hard," Hefner continued. "But now it has shifted. Now it's in the green. Most days the count is growing. Now my women followers are giving the men followers a run for their money. Now I truly feel I have an army of supporters that care and see an actual soul behind the lens. For that I thank you."
She concluded her post by thanking her fans for continuing to follow her, while telling them she hoped they all can also "stay true to yourself and [do] what feels right for you as well, because there's a certain power you get from that you can't find anywhere else."
Crystal married Hugh Hefner in 2012 and was with him until his death in 2017.
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