Photo:Denise Truscello
Denise Truscello
Holly Madison’s two children keep her humble.
The former Playboy Bunny turned-author-and-entrepreneur shares children Rainbow and Forest with ex-husband Pasquale Rotella, and she says that while she tries her best to avoid toxic beauty standards as a mom, her kids already have their own comical conclusions on the matter.
“I’m very relieved because my daughter and my son both roast me for dyeing my hair, they roast me for having extensions. They roast me when I wear a lot of makeup, so I think I’m good,” Madison tells PEOPLE with a laugh.
“Knock on wood, I think they’re not going to fall into the trap of trying to make themselves look over-processed or trying too hard for the beauty standard because they are over it.”
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Holly Madison.Denise Truscello
Madison, who moved intoPlayboy magnate Hugh Hefner’s mansionwhen she was just 21 years old, spent the remainder of her twenties being forced to conform to a certain look Hefner preferred.
She was constantly made to feel like there was something “wrong” with her, and she’s been open in the past about having had both a nose job and a breast augmentation during her time as a Bunny.
As a result, the language she uses when she’s communicating with her children, especially in conversations about food and body image, is really “conscientious.”
“I’m really careful about how I talk about food in front of my kids. If they’re eating something that I can’t eat because of my diet, I’m really careful to say, ‘Oh, I have to eat different,' " she explains. “I am really, really careful about steering away from any diet culture words or any body things.”
Holly Madison attends the 13th annual Las Vegas Great Santa Run benefiting Opportunity Village at the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas, Nevada.David Becker/Getty
David Becker/Getty
That level of care carries over into her everyday parenting, too, as Madison says she’s “very, very protective” over her two children.
“When my kids were babies, I used to post pictures of them on social media, but when they got old enough to be about in preschool and they’re kind of out in the world, I started feeling like that wasn’t the best choice and it wasn’t the safest thing to do,” she says. “And just everything I’ve been through being in the public eye and social media and seeing the things people write about me, I really want to be protective of my kids and give them the opportunity to choose when and if they’re ever going to be public online.”
Now, if Madison does opt to post a photo of herself with either or both of her kids, she covers their faces with emojis.
“If they want to be private, I want that to be their choice, and I don’t want there to be this whole backlog of personal information that others can look up about them,” she says.
“They’d ask me about him and they’d be like, ‘Oh, so did you circumcise your son?’ I’m like, I’m not going to tell anybody that!” she says. “I don’t want somebody 15 years down the road who’s in my son’s school to be able to Google what his penis looks like! You know what I mean?”
And, while being a mother is tantamount to Madison’s life now, she is also passionate about proving women are more than the boxes society repeatedly tries to force them into.
“I think everybody out there really knows that you can be a parent and have a life. It might be hard, it might be a lot of balancing. It might be easier for some than it is for others, but you can do that,” she says.
Madison shares custody of her children with her ex-husband, and on days when she doesn’t have the kids, she’s busy working. She’s currently recording season 2 of herGirls Next Doorpodcast calledGirls Next Levelwith Bridget Marquardt, and she’s also aNew York Timesbestselling author.
Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt Girls Next Level Podcast.Patrick Rivera
Patrick Rivera
“I still do feel like it’s this kind of sexist thing that people lean into when they do want to attack you,” Madison says of the online trolls and haters. “If they have any problem with anything you’re doing, they say, ‘Go take care of your kids,’ and it’s like, I am! But I can also work and talk and do other things.”
And Madison, mother and multi-hyphenate, is also here to point out the kicker: “Nobody tells men to do that, ever.”
source: people.com
