Since leaving the Playboy mansion, much of the press surrounding Holly Madison has been about her relationship with now-ex boyfriend, Criss Angel, and the speculation that Hugh Hefner wanted her back (though this was later denied). There were even rumored to be wedding bells in Holly and Criss’ future, and when they broke up, the dreams of a double wedding with Kendra and her fiance Hank Bassett on the Playboy lawn were dashed. It’s probably good that Holly got out when she did, though, considering how poorly Criss Angel’s Vegas show is doing.

Holly may have already replaced Criss with another dark-haired entertainer who could use a shower, Russell Brand.

Has Holly Madison found herself a new British import?

After spending time with her former boyfriend Hef at Playboy’s Playmate of the Year party at the Palms Saturday night, the Girl Next Door was spotted getting cozy with Russell Brand.

The duo dined at P. Diddy’s table at Tao, where Jay-Z was hosting a fight-night party.

“Russell and Holly were flirting with each other all night,” a source says.

This wouldn’t be Holly’s first Vegas hookup…

She used to live in Sin City with former magician man Criss Angel.

[from E! Online]

When she was on The Girls Next Door, even though it seemed like the peroxide may have killed one too many brain cells, Holly came across like a relatively classy (for Playboy), normal girl. Still, she always expressed an interest in bad boys, (basically, the polar opposite of Hef), so it’s not surprising that she’s attracted to guys who love leather and piercings. That doesn’t, however, explain her attraction to pretentious douchebags who love leather and piercings. There’s a big difference right there. Both Russell and Criss take themselves way too seriously.

Oh, well, we can’t blame her. She probably just needed someone to dry her tears after being kicked off of Dancing with the Stars.

Photo credit: WENN.com

A young girl loiters around a senior citizen, desperate for marriage and babies. When she realizes that an 82 year old man might not be keen for marriage and babies at this late stage, she decides to leave for a man exactly half his age. Sadly, a conflict of schedules got in the way of their love.

The couple had been dating since late last year after Madison moved out of the Playboy Mansion following her breakup with Hugh Hefner.

“She was very much in love with him and they’re still very close friends,” says a source close to the couple. “But it was a conflict of schedules. She felt she couldn’t devote 100% of her time to him in Vegas, at the expense of her own career and her goals.”

Madison, 29, and Angel, 41, had been living together in his Las Vegas home since December, but she has recently moved out and is staying with family.

The source went on to say, “It was a tough decision for her to make, but she wanted pursue her career. She still has very intense feelings for him.”

OK! Magazine

Holly and Criss have been officially dating for four months, and in the time honored tradition of the Paris Hilton-Benji Madden union, she liked to talk to the press frequently about how much they were in love.

Holly planned to propose. She made Criss a little paper ring to wear.

She quit her awkward job with Hugh Hefner so she didn’t have to commute to Vegas anymore to be with her new love.

Criss met her parents, her first boyfriend to do so. I guess Hugh didn’t want to meet parents that were young enough to be his children.

And they did this all in a public forum, which can be kind of awkward. Anyone who has ever declared within hours of meeting someone that they’re ‘the one, I’m in love’ before discovering in the next fortnight that they are decidedly not, feels a fool. It’s cute when after ten years of marriage you declare that you knew right away, but you just look silly doing it any time beforehand. Maybe you can do it on your wedding day, maybe, but no sooner.

I’m sad these two couldn’t make it work, they seemed like a couple made in reality show heaven.

Photo is of Holly and Criss on 11/6/08. Photo credit: PRPhotos

Hugh Hefner was surprised when that his girlfriend Holly was leaving him for Criss Angel. He said at the time, “I was devastated. I didn’t see it coming at all.” When asked if he still talked to Holly, he claimed they still get to see each other because “she still works at the magazine.”

Well, no longer. Now not only has she left the mansion, but news has broken that Holly has officially left her position as Playmate Editor at the magazine. This leaves her free to move to Las Vegas with Angel, where he is still performing his badly-reviewed “Believe” show.

Holly has responded to the press by writing a blog entitled “Annoying!!!!” outlining her reasons for leaving the magazine. Among them: the commute, and that her job became routine. She also denies that the job was just for the reality show.

So it’s out on the gossip sites that I quit my job at Playboy, which is true. I quit for several reasons: 1. I moved to Vegas and that job doesn’t pay enough to make a commute worthwhile (I never cared about the salary when I got the job-I made my money doing Girls Next Door and I just did the job because I loved it.) 2. After two years of it, I no longer found it challenging. It got to be routine, which was sad for me, since I was initially so passionate about the job and the creative aspects involved. 3. It was awkward. Not that anyone tried to make it awkward or didn’t treat me fairly . . . it just was.

It annoys me when people call the job fake as if it was just a set up for the show. If I had wanted a fake career for Girls Next Door I would have stuck with the jewelry line because that required very little of my time. I spent way more than full time directing shoots, editing, making mock layouts and approving retouching.

So as you can imagine, when one is trying to move on with their life, it isn’t beneficial to spend so much time on something that doesn’t pay much and sadly enough is no longer rewarding to you.
But I loved my job while I had it, appreciate the opportunity and the experience greatly and wish whoever takes my place the best.
Love-Holly

[from Holly's MySpace]

From watching her show The Girls Next Door (which I have to admit I enjoy), I got the impression that she really enjoyed the job. When she wasn’t sighing over the fact that Hef wouldn’t marry her, she was talking about how much she loved the creative aspect of the magazine, and working on photoshoots. It seemed like that’s what she wanted to pursue after the Playboy thing ended. But every job gets old after a while, and after she moved out of the mansion, I can imagine that it would get a little “awkward.” She and Bridget always struck me as responsible, creative girls who just also happened to have bangin’ bodies.

But trading her position at a magazine to be the live-in girlfriend of everyone’s favorite joke? This sounds like a downgrade to me. If the relationship doesn’t work out, she’ll probably go back to her roots. Wonder if she’s retired from doing pictorials, too, or if she’d still get naked for the Playboy cameras if the opportunity arose.

Holly Madison is shown at the launch of the Girls Next Door book on 12/20/08 and with criss Angel on 11/6/08. Credit: PRPhotos

Holly Madison, until recently one of Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends and a star on The Girls Next Door, has introduced her boyfriend, illusionist Criss Angel, to her parents.  Considering that her parents have never met any of her former boyfriends, this may be a precursor to wedding bells.  The rumors are substantiated by a shopping trip to Berger & Son Fine Jewelers on Christmas Eve, where another shopper claimed to have overheard a proposal:

“They were looking at one ring and Criss said, ‘Would you marry me?’ ” our spy reports. “Holly didn’t say anything. She just looked at him.”

But then the couple saw that a crowd was beginning to form in front of the store,so they quickly took off.

“Criss handed the ring back to the sales guy and said, ‘Thanks,’ ” the spy said.

Reps for Madison and Angel say we shouldn’t go looking for their wedding registry just yet. “Criss bought Holly a ring for her birthday,” Madison’s rep said. “It’s a flower ring.”

[from E! Online]

On The Girls Next Door, Holly talked about getting married to Hef almost every episode.  This was usually followed by a resigned sigh and a comment about how Hef doesn’t want to get hitched again.  So it isn’t that surprising that there is talk of a wedding already.  Adding to the speculation is the fact that another of Hef’s former girlfriends, Kendra Wilkinson, is already engaged to her boyfriend of three months, Hank Baskett.  Their wedding will happen on June 27 at the Playboy Mansion.  Holly’s rep doesn’t do a very good job denying her client’s engagement, so it’s still possible we’ll see a double ceremony.

It’s also interesting that two of the Girls have found love so quickly after their “breakups” with Hef.  Although there was of course media control surrounding their removal from the Playboy Mansion due to the filming and subsequent airing of their reality show, it seems so orchestrated.   While both Holly and Kendra are said to have been dating their significant others since October, after they broke up with Hef, there were rumors circulating about their love lives before the official “breakup.”  The date that Holly uses as her anniversary with Criss is probably way off from the official date.  But with Kendra celebrating her wedding at the Playboy Mansion, it’s obvious that Hef is, and has always been, in on the joke.

Holly Madison and Criss Angel are shown at the premiere of Repo! The Genetic Opera on 11/6/08. Credit: WENN

Holly Madison is no good at getting guys to propose to her. She spent years by Hugh Hefner’s side, itching for marriage. After way too long she finally wised up – only to land herself with another guy who doesn’t seem interested in popping the question. Holly recently told Us Magazine that she’ll propose to boyfriend Criss Angel – but only after he agrees to wear the paper ring she made him.

Things are getting serious between illusionist Criss Angel and Holly Madison, but don’t expect him to pop the question any time soon.

“I actually made Criss a paper ring, but he won’t wear it,” Madison, 28, told Usmagazine.com at Las Vegas club LAX on Friday. “When he starts wearing his paper ring, I will be the one to propose.”

Added Angel: “You know, what Holly and I have is really something that money can’t buy. She is enough for me.”

In between passionate kisses, the couple — who were celebrating joint birthdays - Angel turned 41 on Friday - while Madison turns 29 on Dec. 23. - opened up about their Christmas plans.

“I am getting him all snowboarding stuff. But I’m not supposed to tell you that!” Madison whispered to Us.

[From Us Weekly]

It’s hard to tell if that thing about the paper ring is some inside joke/pretend fight between the two of them or if Criss really doesn’t want to wear it, and Holly’s saying she’d propose to him if he puts it on in a “when hell freezes over” sense. But they seem pretty into each other and happy, so it’s probably more of a joke.

The pair are – not surprisingly –spending New Year’s in Vegas as well. In fact they don’t ever seem to leave. Lest you think it’ll be a romantic night for them, they’ve managed to make sure that doesn’t happen – by inviting their parents along. Holly noted that it’ll be the first time they all meet, which sure sounds like they’re getting serious with each other. I’m guessing a non-paper ring will probably be in the works in short order.

Here’s Holly, still doing her Playboy duties with Kendra Wilkinson and Bridget Marquardt, launching their new book “The Girls Next Door” at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on December 20, 2008. Images thanks to PR Photos. Header at the premiere of “REPO! The Genetic Opera” in Las Vegas on November 7th. Image thanks to Splash.

Criss Angel is definitely one of the easiest “celebs” to laugh at. Even calling him a celebrity isn’t accurate. He generally seems to annoy the crap out of people. Magicians as a whole don’t seem to garner a lot of respect, even the couple famous ones. David Blaine is a punch line for about 15 jokes on 30 Rock.

Criss takes himself pretty seriously, which is why it must really suck for him that his latest show is getting such atrocious reviews.

He may have scored a new lady in Holly Madison, but it looks as though the “Mindfreak” magician isn’t winning any new fans. Tarts has been told by several peeps that the only thing magically disappearing during Criss Angel’s new collaboration with Cirque du Soleil’s “Believe” is the audience.

The show officially premiered last Friday, but even through the preview runs the performance garnered quite a few boos and hisses and a lot of people have reportedly been getting up and leaving. We’ve even been flooded with complaints that Criss’ New Jersey accent makes it hard to hear.

“It was quite possibly the worst show I have ever seen,” one audience member said. “It’s boring. I’ve seen nudie shows with better production value. I was embarrassed for him.” Ouch.

Angel doesn’t seem to be letting the not-so-rave reviews hamper his happiness as he and Holly hit up PURE in Sin City on Tuesday night. According to an eyewitness, the twosome arrived around midnight and clung to each other on the plush VIP beds until the early hours.

[From Fox News’ Pop Tarts]

I feel mean but I really enjoy laughing at this guy. I’m not surprised his show is nothing special. And I don’t know why I like Holly Madison, but I do. And I really think she could do much, much better. Hell, dating a peanut would garner more respect. There are easily a thousand men and two thousand objects Holly could date that would be a better idea than attaching herself to Criss Angel. Seriously, that ripped apart tennis ball? More personality – and more talent – than Angel. Go date it Holly. It’s smarter, hotter, and will definitely make you happier in the long run.

Here’ s Holly and Criss at the Lionsgate premiere of ‘Repo! The Genetic Opera’ at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas yesterday. Photographer: Judy Eddy Images thanks to WENN.

Before the facade of The Girls Next Door came down, Holly Madison and Hugh Hefner both denied that Holly was secretly dating illusionist Criss Angel. Holly said Angel was just a friend, and to trying to keep the news under wraps until he replaced her, Hef adamantly denied Madison could be dating anyone else. Now that Criss Angel and Holly Madison have gone public, I think it’s fair to say that was all another illusion.

Angel and Madison have been spotted kissing and snuggling over the last several weeks in Las Vegas, but remain somewhat coy about their relationship.

“This is one of the most special evenings for me in my life and I can not think of a more beautiful person, a more special person, inside and out, than Holly to spend it with,” Angel said on the opening night of his new Cirque Du Soleil show, “Believe,” in Las Vegas.

[From People]

This is another one of those celebrity hocouples that fit. They’re on the same lower celebrity rung so one can’t outshine the other. They make more sense than Angel and Cameron Diaz. Criss Angel really came off as looking like a fame whore in that relationship and some would say the same of Holly Madison with Hef. But that’s all the more reason why they’re ideal for each other. They’re both just famous enough to feed the whoring on either side, but not enough to be a threat to each other.

Criss Angel can give Holly money and the baby she wants, and she can give him arm candy and a smiley magician’s assistant to point and applaud. It’s a win/win situation. I think Mindfreak is awesome, I can’t help it, I like to be entertained by cheesy magic tricks I can’t figure out. Holly is my favorite Hefner girlfriend, too, although I can’t give you a specific reason why. The two of them are prime for a TV show together. E! would be all over it.

Photo credit: WENN

In response to Perez Hilton thinking he reported some kind of breaking news, celeb blog What Would Tyler Durden Do has opened a big can of worms and whoopass on him regarding Kendra Wilkinson and her relationship with Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Hank Baskett, and her lack of one with Hugh Hefner.

While no one was surprised to hear that Kendra isn’t a “real” girlfriend of Hef, it was greeted with general surprise that she was dating the 6′4″, 220 lb. football pro and that the two were dropping hints about it on their MySpace pages.  Since the cat was out of the bag, or the bunny out of the hat, as the case may be, WWTDD decided it was time to break their self-imposed silence on the sporty couple.  They’re not only dating, they’re engaged!

Perez is saying today that Kendra Wilkinson MIGHT be dating Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Hank Baskett, which just proves all his inside sources are nonsense because Kendra is engaged to Hank, and has been for some time.  Lots of people know this but everyone likes Kendra so no one was in a hurry to blow her up, me included.  But if their relationship is out there, you might as well know the whole story.  And, um, yeah, so I guess that was the whole story.  Amazing, wasn’t it?

What Would Tyler Durden Do?

Honestly, I can’t see Kendra in an adult relationship with anyone, but I can stretch it to see her attempting one with Hank Baskett alot easier than I can with Hefner.  There are times she seems genuinely grossed out when she has to show physical affection for him on Girls Next Door.  He’s never seemed overly enamoured with her, either.

WWTDD went on to debunk the rest of Perez’s “exclusive” that Holly, Hef’s #1, is cheating on the 82-year old Playboy founder with Criss Angel.  Holly is the only one who really seems to be showing Hef some bunny lovin’, and he’s rewarded her for it by finally putting her in his will, according to WWTDD. 

Way to hang in there, Holly, it’s all been worth it… hasn’t it?

Note by Celebitchy: I found the photo below on Kendra’s Myspace of her with Bassett. It was uploaded a couple weeks ago and is captioned: “haha catchin a wave with my partner in crime..lol” Kendra is shown looking like the odd one out at the House Bunny premiere on 8/20/08. Also shown are Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Hugh Hefner. Credit: Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos

Pseudo-magician/professional skeezball Criss Angel, who has been linked to Britney Spears, Cameron Diaz, and Pamela Anderson, is reportedly dating a beauty queen, Miss Nevada Veronica Grabowski. When Veronica didn’t make the finals over the weekend for the Miss USA pageant, Poor widdle Crissy didn’t like it too much, and was spotted throwing a tantrum and threatening a TV critic.

CRISS Angel, the overrated Las Vegas illusionist who once “dated” Britney Spears for publicity, showed off a nasty temper by throwing a tantrum over the weekend when his girlfriend didn’t win the Miss USA contest. Shortly after Angel’s honey, Miss Nevada USA Veronica Grabowski, didn’t make the finals of the Miss USA pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort, Angel - who flipped the NBC cameras the bird - wigged out when he saw Las Vegas Review Journal columnist Norm Clarke. Angel was ticked off that Clarke ran an interview with preliminary judge Sandy Mecca, in which Mecca claimed Angel exhorted her to give Grabowski “high marks.” Mecca said the comments made her uncomfortable and disturbed pageant owner Donald Trump. When Angel ran into Clarke after the show, he screamed, “You’re a [bleeping] idiot!” Angel then screeched at Clarke, who wears a patch over his right eye, “Don’t ever write another word about me or you’ll need an eye patch over your other eye.” “Good one,” Clarke shot back “Never heard that one before.” Angel’s rep told Clarke, “It was an emotional night for everyone.”

[From Page Six]

How does Criss Angel keep on getting TV shows, attractive women and attention? He’s a hack illusionist, and he’s butt ugly and has a lisp. If it weren’t for his poser “rocker” image, he’d be just another basement-dwelling dork who likes card tricks. His ego is completely out of control, and the day when people see through his shtick and forget all about him can’t come fast enough. If it’s true that he tried to bribe pageant judges, then his girlfriend got what she deserved. Hopefully she will dump his slimy ass when she realizes that he is doing anything but helping her career.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Criss Angel is shown with Miss Nevada below hosting an event at LAX nightclub on 4/11/08. He looks like he shaved off that beard over the weekend as the header is from 4/13/08 from a dinner benefit at Tao, thanks to WENN.

Sometimes you wonder how your life would have been if you had done things differently. If you had gone to a different college, if you had taken that other job, married that guy, got off your fat ass and worked a bit harder…

What would life be like now for Britney Spears if she had staged a successful comeback at the Video Music Awards? Criss Angel was going to get involved in the performance of Britney’s Gimme More single at the show, performing magic tricks arnd moving beyond her previous stage show. The Los Angeles Times asked him what he had up his sleeve.

“With Britney I presented concepts to create, within her performance, illusions that would happen in the open. You would see Britney and then she would split into two Britneys and then four Britneys with no boxes or covers. It would just be a visual effect using no screens. People in the past have used the art of magic in music performances but mostly in a cheesy way. Magic has not kept up with popular culture and technology.

“Other things I wanted to do with her was to literally transform her into birds and then for her to reappear in the audience. I also thought of having her levitate over the audience. It was going to be really visual moments that were all epic tableaux that were beautiful, artistic, elegant and, most important, unique — things MTV hasn’t seen in music. I wanted to captivate people in the moment. That was the essence of what I wanted to do with the Britney performance, because I think the performance she did with the snake was a highlight of her career and I wanted to trump that and I thought we had it.”

So, what happened?

“Britney is really strong with her own ideas. And what I had planned wasn’t an easy thing to do and would have required a lot of rehearsals. Ultimately, I told her I needed 100% commitment or I wasn’t going to be able to do this. I told her that, ‘You have to feel comfortable.’ So, we explored it and she decided it wasn’t for her, and I completely understand.”

Los Angeles Times

That Criss Angel idea sounds awesome - it’s a pity that she deemed it too much work. Kind of like turning up for a court appearance.

If this had taken place, and Britney pulled it off with such pizazz we all exclaimed “Girlfriend is back!” and catapulted her average sounding single to the top of the charts, would she still be the crazy lady we saw walking around in her wedding dress? Or has she been a little nutty all along and has her fall been inevitable from the day she appeared scantily clad in her high school uniform?

I know it is going to take more than just a hit single to cure her crazy, but maybe she just has an attention disorder and that would be a good way of getting some positive attention. This I say in my totally unqualified speculation.

I’d really love to see Brit stomp all over her craziness, get her shit together and go back to being that totally amazing performer she actually was. Remember when she was great?