Karissa Shannon rose to fame as a Playboy Playmate turned “Girls Next Door” star, but life seems completely “normal” to her these days.
In an exclusive interview with Page Six, Shannon — who is now pregnant and engaged — told us she’s “worked hard” to heal in order to achieve what she believes so many people take for granted.
“I was overstimulated and overexposed for so long that I longed for something normal,” said Shannon, who spent two years at Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion before moving to Las Vegas and eventually settling in her native Michigan.
Shannon, 37, has since met the man of her dreams, who shocked her with a “fairytale” proposal last month on her birthday after a romantic dinner at upscale steakhouse Highlands Detroit.
“We were on the waterfront, on the 71st floor, watching the sunset,” she shared.
“We were literally in Michigan, where I was born, facing Canada, where he was born. And there’s a beautiful river separating the two.”
Shannon chose to keep her future husband’s identity a secret because “privacy is peace and privacy is power.”
However, she told us that her “simple, blue-collar guy” is 44, is from Windsor, Ontario, loves hockey, does yoga and has played “a big role in helping her have better drinking habits.”
But above all, what she prefers about her fiancé and father of her little boy, who is due to be born in April, is that he “accepts” her exactly as she is, which includes her “past”.
“He is kind and he loves me deeply and unconditionally. He does not hesitate to defend me in the comments (on social networks) and supports my career and all my projects. He is proud of who I am,” she marveled, noting that the two are also madly in love with their puppy, Arlo.
Shannon recently launched an account with OhChat, an AI-powered adult-themed platform that allows her to “control” how much of her “virtual twin” she chooses to share with the public.
She is also working on a documentary with investigative journalist Lisa Guerrero to continue to shed light on the alleged sexual abuse she and her twin sister, Kristina Shannon, allegedly suffered while living with Hefner from age 18 to 20 as two of his many girlfriends.
In fact, Karissa has vowed to raise her son, who she will name Genesis, to be “the opposite” of the late Playboy founder.
“I want him to be the opposite of everything Hef was portraying,” Karissa said of her plans to use her past to propel the way she parented.
“I want him to be a gentleman, and I want him to have good manners, and I want him to lead with his heart.”
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