Hugh Hefner’s Widow Crystal Says 'My Feelings Are Valued' With Her New Man

It took seven years, but Crystal Hefner has finally found the man of her dreams after an allegedly abusive marriage to the late Hugh Hefner.

The model-turned-real-estate agent was the third and final wife of the "Playboy" founder before his death in 2017. Following the end of their nearly five-year marriage, she became vocal about her struggles.

Healing was a long journey for Crystal Hefner; however, it came with the sweetest reward — her new boyfriend, James Ward. She recently raved about their blossoming romance and how it differed from her marriage with Hugh Hefner.

Crystal opened up about her new relationship with James Ward in a new interview. She gushed about her beau being the best man for her, practically calling him her soulmate with the statement:

"With James, my feelings are valued, validated. I am seen, and I am heard."

Crystal reflected on how her romance with James differed from her relationship with Hugh. She claimed she spent the last seven years healing from her marriage, which was allegedly emotionally abusive.

"I'm nurturing the real me, my adventurous spirit, my inner child. I feel like I've become the person I always needed when I was growing up. I feel accepted and more myself than ever before," Crystal told PEOPLE.

Her marriage to Hugh seems to have significantly impacted Crystal's life as she doubled down on her new relationship being safe and "healthy." In her words:

"I feel accepted and more myself than ever…Things feel healthy. I am so lucky."

Crystal and James have been dating since April after reportedly being set up by friends. Their relationship started three months after the real estate agent admitted it was challenging dating people after Hugh.

"I've been in a couple relationships, and they've been pretty hard. I'm such a homebody, so I'm trying to get out more and meet people," she confessed.

Despite her relationship struggles, Crystal remained hopeful about finding love and walking down the aisle again. She expressed her wishes for the future, saying:

"I would like to meet somebody. I would like to get married. I froze eggs, so maybe [I can have] children one day. We will see."

While it remains to be seen if James will be the lucky man to put a ring on Crystal's finger, whoever she decides to marry won't be lording over her. Earlier this year, the former Playboy Playmate recalled Hugh's controlling nature.

The Blast reported that she accused her deceased husband of controlling every aspect of her life, including the size of her breast implants. She labeled the act a "judgment call," saying:

"The doctor just put them in. Looking at the photos back in the day, I look like a sex doll from China. Like, it's embarrassing. It was like props to me."

Because Hugh made the call about her breast implants, Crystal ended up suffering health complications. She explained that she initially believed she had Lyme disease before doctors discovered it was Breast Implant Illness.

The condition occurs when the implants break down and potentially poison the body, causing various symptoms. Recalling the issues she suffered because of the large implants, Crystal said:

"I just got worse and worse and worse...Brain fog. I knew I had the words, but I just couldn't. I couldn't, like, grab them from my brain. My whole body was, like, burning and on fire."

She removed the implants in 2016, noting her doctor — Dr. Lu-Jean Feng — had to use "open heart surgery tools" to literally scrape parts of the implant shells from her rib cage.

In January, The Blast reported that Crystal considered ditching Hugh's last name to reclaim her maiden name. She claimed she was over being a "Hefner," a realization she had while writing her memoir "Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself."

"For the last five years before writing the book, I just hid out. So, I wasn't really around people to talk about it or really dive into it. But since the book has come out, now, it's something that I'm internally thinking about," Crystal explained.

"I don't want to be Hefner. I'm done with that. I've closed the book now that I've written it, and I feel like my name needs to go back to what it originally was," she declared.