Hugh Hefner's widow, Crystal Hefner, engaged years after the death of the Playboy founder

A commitment to everyone.

Hugh Hefner's widow is ready to go down the course.

The 39 -year -old Crystal Hefner was engaged to James Ward after a year -and seven years after the Playboy founder died at 91.

The marine biologist asked the question on Friday, April 25, with a diamond ring with six carat after spending a month in Africa to celebrate her first anniversary.

Hefner confirmed the commitment and shared her vintage miracle candles in an interview with US Weekly, published on Friday, May 2,.

Ward rose in the house of the former Playboy Model in Hawaii on the coastal deck on a knee that he built it.

The commitment took place just a few days before April 39 on April 29.

She spilled everything about her romantic “surprise” or said a proposal and called it a “full -circuit moment”.

“James surprised me completely. He had a hidden staircase and a winding path to reveal a handmade deck that was sitting over a dramatic cliff with a view of the ocean,” said the former “Girls Next Door” star Weekly.

Hefner revealed the particular importance of the proposal.

“It was exactly the place where we had a quiet picnic together a year ago – a place that was” too “,” she said. “I had no idea that he secretly turned it into something permanent and symbolic. I thought we were just going for a walk, but when I saw the flowers, I knew that the handwritten notes and the sea endlessly stretched in front of us, I knew that something extraordinary would happen.”

The ex-model said when she made the path down, she was “confused” to discover a new staircase with handwritten notes that were “deeply warm”, which she overwhelmed with emotions-but she thought it was early birthday surprise.

“I already opened when I reached the last card that was waiting for me on the deck and overlooked the waves. At first I thought it was an early birthday surprise,” said Hefner. “But the words in the notes gently indicated a little more. And when I realized that he had built an entire deck to create a room for this moment, I was overwhelmed. It was one of the most thoughtful things that someone ever did for me.”

She “did not suspect anything” until she now fell into a knee.

“We were all the time [on a vacation] In Africa I thought we had a peaceful, exuberant adventure – but behind the scenes he coordinated this incredibly elaborate and meaningful suggestion at home “. “I am still amazed that he torn it so seamlessly. I told him I had never been really surprised, so I think he had the feeling that the challenge was accepted.”

Hefner also compared her engagements and said that her wedding with Hefner felt “more about public perception than about real partnership”.

“This chapter feels like a real life – on the grounded, most beautiful and emotionally honest way,” she said. “My first wedding was part of a chapter that felt performative, more about public perception than the real partnership. I didn't even wear white. It didn't feel like a sacred milestone. It felt like I was playing a role in the history of another.

Hefner continued: “It is completely different with James. We are the best friends. We laugh, support each other and navigate the life in hand. Our wedding will reflect this-once, warmly and full of love. Not a show, but a celebration of life that we have assembled.”

Despite her excitement, Hefner revealed that she has no direct plans to say “I do”.

The couple said it planned to “get engaged for a while”, with a possible wedding ceremony being coming in 2026.

Crystal and Ward began in 2024 after he was introduced by friends.

The ex-playboy model moved to Hugh after Hugh died in 2017.

She was married to the business model five years before his death. They bound the knot in December 2012 and remained married until his death.