Forging ahead! Crystal Hefner has been on a journey of self-discovery following her late husband Hugh Hefner’s passing two years ago.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Crystal, 33, told Us Weekly exclusively on Monday, March 9, while attending the Corey Feldman’s My Truth: The Rape of 2 Coreys documentary premiere in Los Angeles. “It’s been trying to find myself. I became someone else’s identity for 10 years. I’m finding my own identify and place in the world. It’s scary.”
In order to figure out who she was and how to live without the Playboy founder, who passed in September 2017, Crystal turned to travel.
“I’ve been doing a lot of traveling and seeing the world. I didn’t do much of that living at the house. Hef and I were just homebodies. He didn’t like me traveling,” she explained. “I guess I’m making up for lost time.”
The Arizona native revealed that the film premiere was calming for her because of her friendship with Corey Feldman, and Hugh’s relationship with him as well. “Being here, supporting Corey. We were all so close,” she said. “Him and Corey were really close, so it feels like home for me.”
Now that time has passed, the Girls Next Door alum manages to keep her late husband, who she was married to from 2012 to 2017, in her life by being an active part of his business, as the vice president of his foundation. “We are working to preserve his legacy every day,” she explained.
Despite him being gone for more than two years, the model has all of the good times to lean on when she misses Hugh — even stories that some people might not have known.
“He had no secrets. He had the same exact routine every single day. He loved animals, people, everybody,” Crystal said of Hugh. “He treated everybody with respect, and I think that’s rare with someone of such a high position of power.”
As for what she learned from being with the media mogul, it all comes down to kindness.
“I asked him all kinds of questions about business. I learned so much. Be kind to everyone, be nice to everyone,” she told Us. “Have an open heart and be an open book.”
