Hugh Hefner: Jilted by 'Runaway Bride?'
Crystal Harris labeled "Runaway Bride" in latest issue of Playboy.
June 16, 2011— -- Call it a case of really bad timing.
The July issue of Playboy just hit the stands, and on the cover is a picture of Hugh Hefner's runaway bride, Crystal Harris, with the tag line "Introducing Mrs. Crystal Hefner."
Of course, by now the world knows that Harris, 25, called off her wedding to Hefner, 85, on Tuesday, just days before she was supposed to walk down the aisle.
Hefner posted the news on his Twitter account: "The wedding is off. Crystal has had a change of heart."
That was followed by Harris' own announcement on her blog: "After much deep reflection and thought, I have decided to end my engagement with Hef. I have the utmost respect for Hef and wish him the best going forward. I hope the media will give each of us the privacy we deserve during this time."
The couple, engaged since Christmas Eve, had been set to say their vows Saturday at the famed Playboy Mansion before more than 300 guests. Harris, 25, had planned to wear a pink Romona Keveza gown.
It would have been her first marriage and Hefner's third.
Inside Playboy's July issue is a seven-page pictorial with Harris posing as a bride and proclaiming: "I'm happier now than I've ever been in my whole life."
All, it seems, was not as it appeared in the magazine.
"I called it off because I didn't think it was the right thing for me to do," Harris told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show Wednesday morning. "It was mutual between Hef and I. There was no fight. We sat down and we talked about it."
Though it seemed to be a sudden decision, Harris said she had been having doubts for some time.
"Hef's lifestyle isn't the most normal lifestyle," she said. "That's the thing. This isn't the lifestyle for me -- the multiple girls all around. It's not the lifestyle I wanted."
"For a while I've been having second thoughts about everything," she continued. "I haven't really been at peace with myself lately. I didn't think it was really fair to him. They were gonna air a show (on Lifetime) on it. It was all happening too fast for me."
When Harris broke the news to Hefner, she said, "He understood. We both agreed that it wasn't the best idea to get married."
Harris' music manager Michael Blakey told E! News that the parting was "amicable."
"He said he was just doing this wedding for me," Harris told Seacrest. "He thought that's what I wanted. We're both relieved."
But Hefner still seemed baffled by Harris' decision, even after her Seacrest interview.
"Crystal did an interview with Ryan Seacrest this morning to explain everything, but I still don't have a clue," he tweeted Wednesday. "I didn't see any of this coming, but I'm glad things went wrong before the marriage instead of after. Live & learn."
Hefner wrote that a parade of ex-playmates, including Barbi Benton and Holly Madison and his ex-wifeKim Conrad have either stopped by or called to give their emotional support.
"The outpouring of support & affection from so many quarters is really touching," Hefner wrote. "The one who has been the most supportive is Anna (Berglund). She didn't see this coming either, & she's Crystal's best friend."
Harris assured Seacrest that there was no one waiting in the wings, while clearing up the persistent rumors that she is romantically linked to Dr. Phil's son, Jordan McGraw.
"No, I'm not seeing someone else. Of course I have friends. I have plenty of friends in the music business, so you know, that's normal."
Harris' manager Blakey reiterated that McGraw is not the reason for the split.
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