‘Healed’ Crystal Hefner Is Happier Than Ever With New Boyfriend James Ward

After her traumatic five-year marriage to Hugh Hefner, Crystal Hefner didn’t expect to find romance and to be in a “healthy relationship” — but then she met James Ward.

“I’ve done a lot of healing that was very necessary since the mansion,” Crystal, 38, exclusively reveals in the latest issue of Us Weekly while dishing on her recent trip to the Cook Islands. “I didn’t know what it was like to be in a healthy relationship. Sometimes, it feels foreign. But I believe that as long as you keep working on it, your brain kind of rewires itself, and you can be in a really happy, healed place.”

Crystal first connected with the marine biologist in Hawaii, where she relocated following Hugh’s death in 2017 at the age of 91. Before meeting Ward, Crystal says that she found dating to be challenging — especially when she was based in Los Angeles.

“Finding someone that you get along with so well is hard,” she explains. “And everyone has different things they’re bringing in.”

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While in Hawaii, she and Ward, 41, were set up by mutual friends in April. After being told by her pals that Ward is a “nice guy,” Crystal decided to meet him and the twosome instantly “hit it off” bonding over their shared love of nature. (In addition to being a marine biologist, Ward also owns a boat tour company on the island.)

“It’s just been this beautiful thing ever since,” she tells Us. “I’ve never felt like I’ve had someone that truly protects me. And in this relationship, I feel like I have a protector.”

Crystal adds that her romance with Ward is very different compared to her relationship with the late Playboy founder. Not only are Crystal and Ward closer in age, but they also make “a lot of the same references” and want to make sure each other are happy.

“The relationship with Hef was, it was more one-sided. Like I always wanted to make sure that he was happy and that he had everything he needed,” she tells Us. “I’m such a people pleaser, so, I always was that way toward Hef, like always people pleasing, making sure he was OK. The mansion and the world revolved around Hef. So, this is the first time where I feel it’s very reciprocal.”

Ward, for his part, exclusively tells Us that he didn’t follow Crystal’s high-profile relationship or her past in the Playboy Mansion. Ward is only focused on what the future holds for him and Crystal.

“It’s been a really big point of pride for me to nourish and encourage the next chapter as opposed to really dwelling on the past,” he says. “I’m happy to leave that chapter as a profound but closed chapter.”

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Since getting together, Crystal and Ward have enjoyed getaways to Los Angeles, Disneyland and most recently the Cook Islands. The model shares that she and Ward “travel really well together” thanks to his “easy going” nature.

“I really wanna be in the Cook Islands with him because it’s such a romantic place. And there’s being with him here, there’s just this calm energy,” she tells Us. “Everything feels just beautiful and like extra special [when] there’s love involved.”

For more on Crystal and Ward, watch the video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, which now includes 12 additional pages, on stands now.

With reporting by Andrea Simpson