Whatever happened to the twins? If you watched E! back in the late 2000s, you couldn't escape them. Karissa Shannon and Kristina Shannon were the teenage faces of a dying era at the Playboy Mansion. They were supposed to be the "fresh start" for Hugh Hefner after Holly, Bridget, and Kendra moved out.
Instead, they became a cautionary tale.
Honestly, the story of the Shannon twins is a lot darker than the "bubbly blonde" edit they got on The Girls Next Door. For years, people just assumed they faded into that weird, hazy world of C-list reality cameos and Instagram modeling. But the truth involves a lot of trauma, a cross-country escape to the Midwest, and a total rejection of the Hollywood machine.
The Mansion Years: Fame or Control?
They were just 18. Think about that for a second. While most kids are worrying about freshman midterms, Karissa and Kristina were moving into a house with an 82-year-old mogul. They had been working at a WingHouse in Florida—basically a Hooters knock-off—when they got the call.
By 19, they were Hefner’s "main" girlfriends.
In the 2022 docuseries Secrets of Playboy, the sisters finally stopped playing nice. They described their 19th birthday not as a celebration, but as the night they realized they were in over their heads. They spoke about being pushed into sexual situations they weren't ready for. Karissa even revealed she had to get a secret abortion after being impregnated by Hefner, an experience she described in harrowing terms, saying the sexual encounters felt more like "assault" than a relationship.
✨ Don't miss: Ainsley Earhardt in Bikini: Why Fans Are Actually Searching for It
It wasn't all parties and Pajama Nights.
The "Anna Nicole Phase" and Hitting Rock Bottom
After they left the mansion in 2010, things got messy. There's no other way to put it. You've probably seen the headlines from that era: DUIs, public brawls between the sisters, and a stint on the show Botched to fix plastic surgery gone wrong.
They call this their "Anna Nicole phase."
"We were really unhealthy and lost and, even at points, suicidal," Kristina told People in a rare 2025 update. "We had no one."
The twins admit they fell into a dangerous cycle of alcohol and pills. They gained weight—about 100 pounds between them—and the internet, being the internet, was brutal. They were diagnosed with a laundry list of mental health struggles: bipolar disorder, PTSD, ADHD, and generalized anxiety.
🔗 Read more: Why the Jordan Is My Lawyer Bikini Still Breaks the Internet
It’s easy to judge from a distance. But when you look at the timeline—entering that high-pressure environment as teenagers without a support system—it’s kinda miraculous they made it out at all.
Life in Michigan: The Great Escape
So, where are Karissa and Kristina Shannon now? They basically vanished from Los Angeles. They realized that as long as they stayed in the "scene," they were never going to get sober or sane.
They moved back to where they were born: Ann Arbor, Michigan.
It was a total 180. They traded red carpets for nature walks. They sold their Beverly Hills beauty salon, Glam, and started focusing on a "simple life." Lately, they’ve been very vocal about their return to Christianity. They talk a lot about how Hefner supposedly "took their religion away" and how finding Jesus again has been the anchor of their recovery.
The 2026 Comeback
Fast forward to today. The twins are in their mid-30s and looking to work again, but on their own terms. They recently signed with a UK-based PR agency, Intrigue Publications, and have been showing off a much healthier, "organic" lifestyle.
💡 You might also like: Pat Lalama Journalist Age: Why Experience Still Rules the Newsroom
They’ve dropped the weight. They’re getting their breast implants reduced. They even talk about wanting to get married and have children—ideally at the same time, because, well, they're twins.
They aren't exactly "normal" yet—Kristina recently joked in an interview about wanting to date Elon Musk, and they both still have a taste for the spotlight—but they seem lightyears away from the "zombie" state they were in during their early 20s.
Why We Still Talk About Them
The Shannon twins matter because they represent the "last gasp" of the old Playboy world. They were the ones left to turn off the lights when the party finally ended. While the original Girls Next Door trio has found success with podcasts and memoirs, Karissa and Kristina represent the side of the story that didn't get a happy ending right away.
They are a reminder that the "glamour" of the mansion was often a facade for girls who were essentially still children.
What You Can Learn from Their Journey
If you’ve been following their story, the takeaway isn't just about the gossip. It’s about the reality of recovery.
- Environment is everything. They couldn't heal in L.A., so they left. Sometimes you have to physically remove yourself from a toxic situation to change your mindset.
- Mental health isn't a straight line. They’ve had multiple "restarts," and that’s okay. The transition from your 20s to your 30s is a massive identity shift for anyone, let alone someone who was a public figure.
- Ownership of your narrative. By speaking out in Secrets of Playboy, they took the power back from the "dumb blonde" trope that had been forced on them for a decade.
If you’re interested in the deeper history of that era, you should check out the Secrets of Playboy documentary on A&E. It provides the context that the E! reality show conveniently left out. You can also follow their current journey through their new representation to see how they’re navigating their "30s transition" without the X-rated baggage of the past.