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How ‘The Girls Next Door’ Helped Destroy Holly Madison and Kendra Wilkinson’s Friendship

Spin-off competition, conflicting memoirs and years of Playboy Mansion drama turned the former ‘Girls Next Door’ stars against each other.

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The Girls Next Door—a reality show about Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner’s live-in girlfriends—was a game-changer for reality television in the early 2000s. The show was generating so much attention for series stars Holly Madison, Kendra Wilkinson, and Bridget Marquardt that Madison and Wilkinson got their own spin-offs. As they reached undeniable success, it cost them their friendship.

The first season of The Girls Next Door sees Wilkinson moving into the Playboy Mansion as Hefner’s latest girlfriend. Her bold, unwavering attitude immediately causes tension in the house.

Madison had already been living in the mansion for three years and had a more reserved personality. Wilkinson was 18 when she moved into the mansion, so the glitz and glamour of Playboy hadn’t worn off just yet. As the seasons go on, it’s clear that there’s more going on behind the scenes than the audience is privy to.

By 2012, the girls are moved out of the Mansion and onto the next stage of their lives. Madison—who left in 2008, and Wilkinson, who departed just a year later—head off to film their respective spin-offs. Madison moves to Las Vegas and stars as a lead in Peepshow at Planet Hollywood—which drives the wedge between them even further.

Wilkinson’s show was an immediate hit for E!, bringing in 2.6 million viewers in the series premiere. It was E!’s biggest premiere since 2002’s The Anna Nicole Show. Kendra followed her life post-mansion, as she’s at a crossroads with her next steps. It ran three seasons, and in 2012 she premiered Kendra on Top on WeTV.

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