S1E9: Cover Stories and Barbecue Beef

Three girls, one cover, and suddenly it’s not just a photoshoot—it’s stakes. What looks like a glamorous moment quickly turns into something more personal, more competitive, and a lot more telling about what each of them actually wants. Because in this world, being chosen means everything… even if no one says it out loud.

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:00

I can't promise it. I'm going to put you in the magazine and I'm going to shoot a cover.

SPEAKER_00 0:04

We don't know. Welcome back to more Girls Next Door, where I recap, review, and rehash your favorite Y2K reality series, The Girls Next Door. I'm your host, Mega Fan, and Y2K survivor Megan. Today we're discussing season one, episode nine, Under the Covers. Come on to my house. October 23rd, 2005 was the date this Girls Next Door episode aired. But another girl next door made a big splash in 2005. Our Y2K historical reference for today is the return of Mariah Carey. Y'all, that's my girl. However, as a reliable eyewitness to the early 2000s, I can say it was not always looking so good for Mimi. Anyone remember the ice cream cart on TRL? I'll never forget Carson Daly and his face when he looked at her and asked, What are you wearing? When Mariah didn't respond, he says, Holy crap. Hi, cousin. What are you doing here? Hi. Holy crap. Hi. I guess you just had to be there, or you can go watch it on YouTube. After the glitter era, public breakdowns, and pop culture exile, Mariah stormed back in 2005 with the emancipation of Mimi, gave us We Belong Together, reclaimed her throne, and reminded everyone you can fall publicly and still rise fabulously. Also, she was shaking it off long before Taylor Swift. Let's be clear. Alright, do you know what time it is? It's time to kick off your candies, hang up your trucker hat, and silence your sidekicks. Let's get into under the covers.

SPEAKER_02 2:15

Yo, represent flipping West Coast!

SPEAKER_04 2:19

My fresh will be the butterfly. Or the bank.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

No, that's 96, actually. Yeah, why don't they call it 96?

SPEAKER_04 2:29

That would be two people with their back to one another. 96 never caught on.

SPEAKER_03 2:37

Oh, I get it.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

Episode 9 of The Girls Next Door opens on Hef and Kendra sitting around the grand table just shooting the shiz with the other girls and ex-girlfriends like Stacy Burke. Stacy was kicked out of the mansion years before, but remained a permanent house guest. Kendra throws up a west side sign, and Hef jokingly makes a butterfly with his hands. When Kendra attempts to position her digits so they read 69, she does so upside down. No, that's 96, Stacy giggles. Unpopular position, says Hef. The table explodes laughing, but Kendra looks like someone just handed her an algebra problem. Yeah, why don't they call it 96? she inquires. Hef patiently explains. Well, because that would be two people with their backs to one another. The whole table loses it, and it finally clicks as Kendra air writes the numbers on her placemat. Oh yeah, you're right, she concedes. I don't know if this scene was included as a strike at Kendra's intelligence, but it was authentically funny and simply charming to me. We learn from Holly that today the girls will be shooting for the chance to be on the cover of their Playboy Pictorial magazine. So you're saying there's a chance. Also, Holly tells us she's set a short-term goal for herself to redecorate the mansion guest house. It was originally decorated in the 70s by Hef's ex-girlfriend Barbie Benton, and the vibes are just too yeeha for Holly. For such an undertaking, you'd think Hef would give her a budget and Holly would call in reinforcements, but Hef didn't work that way. He pinched his pennies and clung to outdated trends when it came to the mansion. I understand wanting to preserve historical integrity and original architecture, but you can tell this place was overdue for a facelift. So we see Holly in black and pink athletic wear, full-on lifting old box TVs, they weighed a ton, and dragging furniture all on her own. She says she doesn't want Hef to see it until it's done. At the Playboy studio, we find out that the concept for the magazine cover is pretty basic. The three girls in bed together, shot by Arnie Freytag. They are photographed from above on a mattress covered with satin sheets. Holly, Bridget, and Kendra are test shot with white satin sheets and black satin sheets, and the images are sent off to Hef for his decision. The show tries to lean into and draw out suspense from this scene. You see, in a rare moment of mansion harmony, all three girls prefer the black sheets.

SPEAKER_03 5:48

In Kendra's words, the white sheets kind of made us look like innocent virgins. The black ones look like erotic, you know. Wait, I meant exotic. Close enough.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

On pins and needles, but covered with satin, they await to hear of Hef's preference. Meanwhile, Holly admits something important.

SPEAKER_04 6:12

In the past, you know, Hef has told me that I couldn't be a playmate and I wasn't photogenic enough. Hef says I'm more important to him than any of his ex-girlfriends were, but I find that hard to believe because all his ex-girlfriends were on the cover of Playboy a million times. In the public eye, I don't mean as much to Hef as some of these other girls.

SPEAKER_00 6:32

Bitter? Maybe. Hef has told her before that she's not photogenic enough to be a playmate, and that's stuck with her. Every girlfriend before her was a playmate. So this cover, this isn't just a photo. It could be the validation she seeks. We cut to a scene of Hef in black satin pajamas, hmm, carefully reviewing a page of tiny test prints with a magnifying loop. He picks up the dinosaur mansion landline phone and dials the studio, where photography editor Marilyn Grabowski, or Mo picks up. To everyone's delight, Hef relays the big news that he prefers the black sheets. Black one's better.

SPEAKER_03 7:18

Thank God. These are way sexier than the white ones. Black is always better.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

The shoot continues with Kendra desperately trying to work in as many clicks of her signature pose, which is just her smiling while pretending to nibble the tip of her index finger. The cover shoot concludes, and the girls dress and say goodbye for now to the team on set. Bridget begins her emotional farewell tour. It's just doing too much. Everyone within six degrees of Bridget knew her lifelong dream was centerfold. She never let anyone forget it, ever. So, yes, she's grateful, but this is theatrical. I know it's a small thing, and it's only appropriate to display gratitude to those helping you achieve your dreams, but again, it's just too much. I don't want to leave. We're gonna spend the night. Let's just make this an all-nighter, she whines as she embraces a woman in the makeup area. It's like, B, that woman don't want to stay there all damn night after spending all day priming your ass. I don't know. Maybe it's the whiny, childlike voice. It sometimes seems like an act, a practiced trait in attempts to translate younger. The baby voice, pigtails, the whining, over-the-top enthusiasm. Let's have a sleepover. Bridget isn't being childish because she's immature. She's being childish because youth is currency in the mansion, and she's trying to spend every last dollar. While the camera pans over the mansion grounds, Holly gives us a broad view breakdown of the separate properties that make up Playboy's Homebey Hills compound. On seven acres sits the mansion itself, a guest house, and a game house. Another home across the street is referred to as the Playmate House, and this is where some select playmates have been invited to live. It seems like this was a welcomed arrangement, especially for Holly, who considers herself a sort of den mother or playmate confidant. Mostly, though, I think having girlfriends that were not girlfriends was a cure for Holly's loneliness and at times isolation. Holly plans to coordinate a barbecue for the girls in the Playmate House. So she enlists Anastasia to trip with her to the grocery store while Bridget stays behind and panics to her mom over the potential magazine cover.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

So I'm just kind of nervous. I was worried. I knew that at any time they could decide not to use our cover shoot. So this was scary.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

This is when we are reminded that despite all the extensive set designs, hired teams of hair and makeup professionals, and full days of shooting, the cover was never actually promised.

SPEAKER_04 10:35

I can't promise it. I can't promise it. I can't promise it.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

Bridget wonders if Kelly Monaco, former playmate, turned actress and winner of the first season of Dancing with the Stars, will be chosen instead since Playboy covers were reserved for celebrities whenever possible. While the mansion kitchen was rumored to almost be completely off-limits to the girlfriends, we cut to Holly back from shopping, chopping veggies and preparing her mom's recipe for pasta salad. In the next scene, Holly is hanging around the office questioning Norma of the mansion staff on the whereabouts of the anticipated Playboy issue. I just want to see if we got the cover, Holly says. But Norma is Fort Knox. She either hasn't seen it, doesn't know if it's arrived yet, or is following orders to remain tight-lipped. And we know Hef wants to be the one to reveal the magazine to the girls. No one's gonna steal a chance from Hef to perform. I'm the one that makes shiz happen around here. Gratitude goes to Daddy. Over at the Playmate House now, Holly is preparing for the barbecue. And y'all, this outfit. This is classic Holly during this era. Juicy in hot pink is written on the booty of her green short terrycloth skirt. She's paired it with a white lace boustier. And if that's not confusing enough, she's added tube socks and pink and white pumas. You know what? I'm not even mad at it. It's a vibe, and in 2005, this was considered a fully coherent outfit. On the other hand, I have a slight side eye for Bridget, who arrives in pigtails, Daisy Duke, jean shorts, and red bandana, tie front top, which exposes her white bra and barely covers her underboob. I mean, it's the right theme and it's all matching, but it's just doing too much. Trying too hard to be sexy. Bridget is sexy, but this is just so extra. Holly actually ends up changing into a sexy housewife costume, and even that beats Bridget's outfit under the category of class. Kendra and Hef also attend the gathering along with playmates Carmela Desari, Tiffany Fallon, and Kara Monaco.

SPEAKER_04 13:21

I'm gonna make hamburgers, hot dogs, which should be pretty easy. And how hard can it be to cook a burger and a hot dog? I don't see any real pods.

SPEAKER_00 13:30

While Holly smokes out the kitchen, burning baby burgers, burning baby burning baby burgers, burning baby burgers. The others pick out a buffet of chips, dips, and pasta salad. Like a little girl presenting her father with a family drawing, Holly skips over to Hef, handing him a plate with a single slider. She stays close, praying for his approval. We see him take a bite and and pause. No one but Holly has confirmed this story, and there were witnesses. But on her YouTube reaction video for this episode, she claims that Hef took one bite of the burger and spit it out in disgust, crushing her feelings and causing her to retreat during the rest of the barbecue. But on the show, we see him take several bites of the burger. And when Holly Strait asks him how he likes it, he replies that it's good. He adds that he usually likes onions and cheese, but he then again shoves another bite in his mouth.

SPEAKER_04 14:36

Honey, how was the baby burger? It's good, although I usually get it with um I put onions on it, but they all fell off when I'm but also I think they I think they mix it in with the meat somehow. And also there's usually the cheese on it. Oh yeah, I forgot. All right.

SPEAKER_00 14:58

So I don't know. What gives? It seems Holly was not prepared for the responsibility of hosting a small gathering. In the show, she laments on the separation she felt having to cook and serve instead of mingling with her guests.

SPEAKER_04 15:17

I felt a little bit alienated. I didn't feel like I could hang out with any of the girls. So it was an experience, but I don't know if it was the funnest thing.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

She decides to leave the party and goes back to redecorating the guest house. We've clocked this routine from Holly before, as I noted the same behavior on fight night and Kendra's birthday luau. Even more interesting is with each of Holly's disappearing acts, her reasoning flip-flops over the years, and this one is no exception. On the show, she ditches her housewife duties because she felt isolated. But in Holly's YouTube reaction video for this episode, she provides a two-part, alternate rationale. She first says she left because Hef was a jerk to her about the baby burger she'd prepared for him. But then she adds that he was also being really quote gross with Kendra, and she didn't want to be around that. Holly can't seem to explain what was so gross except that it was of a sexual nature, and they were both laying in one of the guest beds. Now, we all know how editors can splice truth and clip reality out of sequence, but just being a bit of a GD detective here, the episode shows that as Holly leaves the barbecue, Kendra is on the sofa with Tiffany Fallon and Hef is nowhere to be found. If we take Holly's reported version of events, a basic side-by-side comparison of her and Kendra becomes a powerful contrast example. Holly redecorates, hosts, cooks, organizes, manages relationships, becomes den mother, tries to be perfect. And Kendra exists, laughs, is carefree, doesn't overthink, and still gets attention. I believe we can connect this to why Holly spirals. Regardless, it's not the first and it won't be the last time Holly exits an event early in a sort of mini tantrum. At the guest house, we see Hef actually track Holly down to check on her. Holly tells him everything is fine, she's just really tired, and they embrace. But Hef keeps apologizing. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, he says. Back at the mansion and among the staff, there's buzz about the girl's Playboy issue. The magazine has been FedEx delivered, and the scene makes it appear as if everyone, down to butlers and groundskeepers, were eager to find out will they or won't they be on the cover? Hef's personal assistant Mary announces sternly that Hef and only Hef will be opening the package. They are to remain a united front of silence against Holly's persistence to uncover the cover. Sure enough, minutes later, Holly visits the office and again inquires about the whereabouts of the magazine. Mary shuts her down, but Holly is sure they are hiding it from her because they know she's a determined snoop. Downstairs, Holly, Bridget, and Kendra are having lunch when Hef appears with box in hand, and at last the suspense is over. He pulls out a shiny new Playboy magazine with the girl's image on the front. They all scream and clap, jumping up and down. Each displays their gratitude to Hef with a kiss and a spoken thank you, honey. As the girls flip through the pages, Bridget gets emotional and states that being on the cover of Playboy was beyond her dreams. Holly proclaims it a milestone, and Kendra is happy they airbrushed out her. We end the episode with a slow, zoomed-out view of the cover image and Holly's commentary.

unknown 19:26

She was frowned.

SPEAKER_04 19:27

I think for me personally, just because all of Hef's girlfriends have been on the cover Playboy a million times. For me, I feel like it kind of legitimizes me. I feel like he's finally saying he's proud of me, and I've made it in that one little aspect of life here at the mansion.

SPEAKER_00 19:46

She feels legitimized by the cover as it finally puts her in the same class or category as Hef's prior girlfriends. Hef's decision to put her on the cover must mean he's proud of her. So it isn't really about satin sheets or burgers or barbecues. It's about three women chasing validation in three different ways. Bridget wants achievement, Kendra wants fun, Holly wants approval. And in this moment, they all get it. Just like Mariah in 2005, after being written off, doubted, dismissed, this episode is about redemption, about finally feeling enough. But the difference is Mariah learned to validate herself. These girls were still waiting for someone else to do it. Thanks all for tuning in today. I'd love to get deeper discussions going with you, so meet me in the comment section. I'll engage. Don't forget to like, share, subscribe to this podcast. I love you guys, and I can't wait to see you next time.

SPEAKER_01 20:59

On the breaks.