Crystal Hefner felt 'absolutely brainwashed' during Hugh Hefner marriage, reveals strict Playboy mansion rules

Crystal Hefner is reflecting on her complicated relationship with the late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.

The former Playboy Playmate, who was married to Hefner at the time of his death, shared details about her life behind the gates of the Playboy Mansion during an appearance on the "No One Asked Her" podcast with Billy Ray Cyrus' ex-wife, Firerose.

"I think I was absolutely brainwashed, but there was nothing out there that validated me," Crystal said.

PLAYBOY'S CELEBRITY-DRIVEN RELAUNCH FACES CREDIBILITY TEST IN ONLYFANS ERA, EXPERT SAYS "So I just thought I was the crazy one because all of the media put Hef on such a pedestal that I'm like, 'OK, if they all see him as this larger-than-life amazing human, there must be something wrong with me." "I would watch interviews of his from the past and there was this one where he was arguing with feminists and a woman said, 'Uh, let's see you parade out here with a bunny tail on and stuff.' And then she said, 'Calling women animals,' ... and he said, 'Women are animals; what else would they be?'" HOLLY MADISON SAYS PLAYBOY MANSION FELT LIKE A 'SAFE HARBOR' AFTER SHE ENCOUNTERED HOLLYWOOD'S DARK SIDE She noted, "At that time, I was like siding with him and ... like, I'm going against myself while he keeps me in this dilapidated, gross home and I can't see my family." Crystal, 40, recalled being under the watch of 70 employees during her time at the Playboy Mansion .

WATCH: HOLLY MADISON RECALLS PLAYBOY FOUNDER HUGH HEFNER'S ‘JEALOUS STREAK’ "I remember when I left, I mean, it took him dying for me to leave, but when I finally left, I didn't even know how to turn the headlights on in my car because I was always home before dark." She added, "Movie night was at six, and that's an early time and I had to be there ... so it was kind of disguised — the coercive control, like, 'Oh, that's the time for movie night.' OK, that's the time for my curfew and my control." Crystal began dating Hefner when she was 21 years old.

The couple got engaged in 2010 when she was 24 and the Playboy founder was 84.

They called off their wedding just days before the ceremony in 2011 but later reconciled.

Crystal and Hefner married in 2012 and remained together until his death in 2017 .

He was 91.

GET ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE She told Firerose that she struggled to leave the house after he died.

"I was so confused," she said.

"In the media, he was old for so long, so you just, you see him as kind of immortal." Crystal added, "I couldn't stay in the bedroom we stayed in, but I stayed in one bedroom of the house for like six weeks.

I didn't leave." Shortly after Hefner's death, Crystal told Fox News Digital she was thankful for her marriage to the late business mogul.