Crystal Hefner is empowered by "modesty" and feels more authentic than ever.
Crystal Hefner feels 'empowered'
The 35-year-old star - who was married to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner for five years until his death in September 2017 - has opened up on her decision to move away from her "scantily clad" days and embrace her true self.
Taking to Instagram this week, she wrote: "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.
"As most of you know, I grew my following during my “Playboy” years. Certain photos grow followings fast. In short, sex sells.
"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. (sic)"
Crystal explained how she "removed everything fake from my body", and deleted old photos to help her feel like she belongs "more to [herself]".
She continued: "As I made this transition, I always thought… “Will my account survive?” as I saw followers drop by the thousands every day...
"I was in the red. 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."
However, that has changed and now Crystal has noticed her female following has grown.
She added: "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."
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