Playboy founder Hugh Hefner has revealed that he has a new girlfriend, just two weeks after he was dumped by his 25-year-old fiancee.
Hefner (85) and Crystal Harris - Miss December 2009 - were due to tie the knot in front of more than 300 guests at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles earlier this month. It would have been Hefner's third marriage.
"The wedding is off. Crystal has had a change of heart," Hefner wrote on Twitter. "The breakup is a heart breaker, but better now than after the marriage," he added later.
Hefner announced yesterday that he was now dating Miss November 2010.
Shera Bechard, a 27-year-old French-Canadian model and fledgling actress, moved into the Playboy Mansion in April. In addition to being the magazine's centerfold last November, she will also be Miss November 2011, Hefner said on Twitter.
The Roy Orbison and Seinfeld fan likes men "who are open to exploring their sexuality with me" and "make me laugh so hard I hyperventilate," according to her profile in last year's issue.
Harris is on the cover of the current issue, billed as "Mrs Crystal Hefner". It went to press before the break-up, but Hefner was able to rush out "runaway bride" stickers to affix to newsstand copies.
Harris said she got jitters about living a tightly regimented life among dozens of attractive young women at the Playboy mansion, and left Hefner days before their scheduled June 18th wedding.
Initially heartbroken, Hefner has taken a more philosophical stance, saying last weekend that "staying single is probably for the best".
Reuters