Hugh Hefner is mourning the death of Mary O’Connor, his longtime secretary at the Playboy mansion. The Playboy mogul, 86, announced the sad news of O’Connor’s passing on Twitter Sunday, Jan. 27. She was 84 years old. “Mary passed away today. We loved her more than words can say,” Hefner wrote.
A source tells Us Weekly that Hefner is “devastated” over O’Connor’s death. The two worked closely together for over 40 years, and O’Connor even made appearances on his hit E! show, The Girls Next Door.
“Hef and everyone at the mansion are taking this really hard,” the insider tells Us.
Though her cause of death is not yet known, Hefner recently tweeted that O’Connor was sick. “Crystal [Harris] is going to visit Mary O’Connor, who is not doing very well,” he wrote on Jan. 26. “Mary has our prayers. We all love her.”
Hefner married Harris, 26, this past New Year’s Eve after famously calling off their engagement in June 2011. Hefner credited O’Connor for bringing the two back together.
“It’s Mary O’Conner that brought Crystal Harris back,” Hefner explained on Twitter June 1, 2012. “Crystal was miserable & said so. Mary told Crystal to write and tell me, which she did.”
Mary’s husband “Captain Bob” passed away about nine months ago. Former Girls Next Door star Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett tweeted, “RIP Mary O’Connor. She was an amazing person who helped me through so much. But I know she’s happy with her boo Captain Bob.”
