Holly Madison opens up about her autism diagnosis at 42 and how boyfriend Zak Bagans handled it
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Holly Madison has revealed the changes she experienced after she was diagnosed with autism at the age of 42.
The former Playboy model told PEOPLE, “I'm so glad I got that diagnosis because I can recognize how I operate the way I do, why I operate the way I do, how I relate to people.”
“I feel like it's helped my social skills just knowing that,” she shared.
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Holly Madison speaks of her experiences before her autism diagnosis
The 44-year-old TV personality further explained, “I look back and I just see how I used to have so much trouble connecting with people. I think that played into some of the decisions I made.
“Feeling like I connected with certain people easier and thinking, ‘Oh, this must be meant to be because I never connected with anyone before,’ kind of a thing, when really, I think it was just being on the spectrum was a difficulty for me.”
Holly Madison shares about her bond with boyfriend Zak Bagans
Madison also mentioned her longtime boyfriend Zak Bagans’ response to her diagnosis.
She asserted, “I'm lucky enough to be dating somebody who just has always kind of understood me and accepts me for who I am, so getting the diagnosis wasn't super shocking to him.”
“I am lucky that I haven't had a ton of trouble in recent relationships as far as feeling an intimate emotional connection with somebody,” ‘The Girls Next Door’ star added.
In December 2023, Madison disclosed on the ‘Talking to Death’ podcast that the “doctor told me that I have high executive functioning, which means I can pretty much go about my life and do things ‘normally'.”
She continued at the time, “I think because I’m more quiet, I’ve only recently learned to make eye contact, I’m often in my own thoughts, things like that, so people take that as offensive.”
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“They’re like, ‘Damn, you’re not super interested in me, f*** you.’ Like, I'm just not on the same social wavelength as other people but don’t take it personally. So I like being able to explain that,” she added.
Holly Madison describes scenarios at Hugh Hefner’s house as ‘weird’
In another interview with PEOPLE, Madison opened up about her time at the infamous mansion of Hugh Hefner.
She disclosed, “They would have these trays everywhere, like in every bathroom, out on the tennis courts, by the pool, and it would be a tray with Kleenex, Pepto Bismol, Vaseline, baby oil, sunscreen — any kind of makeshift lube.”
“It was weird,” she noted.
