just sit there and wait—like something was going to happen. I would say, “You’ve been around enough drunks to know that nothing happens when you have one drink. Don’t sit there and act like because I have a glass of champagne I’m going to fall off my chair and cause a scene.” But Gene likes to drive his points home. He beats things to death. I got the message.
I did eventually quit drinking, but not because he objected. I had been drinking for so long to help me cope or help me be less shy or for whatever reason, and it was something I just didn’t need anymore. I didn’t miss it. It’s no fun to drink alone, and now I had a guy who was as clean and sober as it gets. Mr. Goody Two-shoes, Dudley Do-Right.
Those months I spent with Gene were a dry-out spell. The whole New York experience was wonderful, and our relationship was still too good to be true. But I had to get back to work, and life had to go back to a new normal. It was time to incorporate my family, my life, and my work into our new world. When I got home to L.A., all my friends were still running around doing this and doing that. Gene went on tour and I was alone, so I fell back into the party life a little bit. And the funny thing was, it wasn’t so great. I looked around and thought, All this isn’t as fun as I remember. I just didn’t want to do it anymore.
A few months after I returned to L.A. I headed off to Africa to do a movie. I was traveling all over the place; so was Gene. No matter where either of us was in the world, Gene faithfully called me every single day. Slowly I dropped the friends who were still doing drugs and all those things I didn’t want to do anymore. I think that should be Step One of any 12-step program: Get away from it. Get away from the people around you doing that kind of stuff, it’s half the battle. I think I was lucky, because I had been partying hard for a good while by then and stopped just in the nick of time, before I had some really serious problems to deal with. It’s not that I was drinking so much I had to go to rehab or was losing jobs—but then again, I really don’t know. I don’t know what jobs I didn’t get because of my lifestyle, or because I was a Playmate, for that matter. I’m sure there was stuff going on behind closed doors: “Should we see her?” “Nah, she’s a Playmate, forget it.” It may be that some people were looking at me thinking, She was stoned during that audition. All I knew was that the time had come. I stopped drinking and doing drugs, and I didn’t miss it.
Gene and I did have some things to work out in the early days. He had a real problem with some of the ways I expressed myself, for example. I had picked up a few New York words and phrases from him, such as scumbag, which I loved and used everywhere. I also used the phrase shut up to mean “No, get out, I don’t believe it.” He did not care for that at all. I used it a few times and the last time, I guess, was one time too many. We were driving somewhere, and he pulled over and said, ‘ Shut up ‘ is not a phrase I ever want to be told or hear again from you.” He was not kidding.
I was surprised. I said, “What, you mean ‘ shut up ‘? It doesn’t mean for you to literally close your mouth. It’s a saying, for God’s sake. Are you not from around here, or what? It’s just an expression. You’re in America now. It’s not a sign of disrespect.” This was the closest thing we’ve had to an argument to this day.
Generally it was small stuff we had to work out and get around in the beginning of our relationship. Gene spent so much time on the road touring, surrounded by people saying “yes” to his every request, that it was hard for him to come home to me. I was always a bit of a troublemaker, and was never afraid to talk back to him. He got yessed to death on the road, but he wasn’t going to get it from me. He’d always had diva girlfriends, and I’m sure part of that personality type
I did eventually quit drinking, but not because he objected. I had been drinking for so long to help me cope or help me be less shy or for whatever reason, and it was something I just didn’t need anymore. I didn’t miss it. It’s no fun to drink alone, and now I had a guy who was as clean and sober as it gets. Mr. Goody Two-shoes, Dudley Do-Right.
Those months I spent with Gene were a dry-out spell. The whole New York experience was wonderful, and our relationship was still too good to be true. But I had to get back to work, and life had to go back to a new normal. It was time to incorporate my family, my life, and my work into our new world. When I got home to L.A., all my friends were still running around doing this and doing that. Gene went on tour and I was alone, so I fell back into the party life a little bit. And the funny thing was, it wasn’t so great. I looked around and thought, All this isn’t as fun as I remember. I just didn’t want to do it anymore.
A few months after I returned to L.A. I headed off to Africa to do a movie. I was traveling all over the place; so was Gene. No matter where either of us was in the world, Gene faithfully called me every single day. Slowly I dropped the friends who were still doing drugs and all those things I didn’t want to do anymore. I think that should be Step One of any 12-step program: Get away from it. Get away from the people around you doing that kind of stuff, it’s half the battle. I think I was lucky, because I had been partying hard for a good while by then and stopped just in the nick of time, before I had some really serious problems to deal with. It’s not that I was drinking so much I had to go to rehab or was losing jobs—but then again, I really don’t know. I don’t know what jobs I didn’t get because of my lifestyle, or because I was a Playmate, for that matter. I’m sure there was stuff going on behind closed doors: “Should we see her?” “Nah, she’s a Playmate, forget it.” It may be that some people were looking at me thinking, She was stoned during that audition. All I knew was that the time had come. I stopped drinking and doing drugs, and I didn’t miss it.
Gene and I did have some things to work out in the early days. He had a real problem with some of the ways I expressed myself, for example. I had picked up a few New York words and phrases from him, such as scumbag, which I loved and used everywhere. I also used the phrase shut up to mean “No, get out, I don’t believe it.” He did not care for that at all. I used it a few times and the last time, I guess, was one time too many. We were driving somewhere, and he pulled over and said, ‘ Shut up ‘ is not a phrase I ever want to be told or hear again from you.” He was not kidding.
I was surprised. I said, “What, you mean ‘ shut up ‘? It doesn’t mean for you to literally close your mouth. It’s a saying, for God’s sake. Are you not from around here, or what? It’s just an expression. You’re in America now. It’s not a sign of disrespect.” This was the closest thing we’ve had to an argument to this day.
Generally it was small stuff we had to work out and get around in the beginning of our relationship. Gene spent so much time on the road touring, surrounded by people saying “yes” to his every request, that it was hard for him to come home to me. I was always a bit of a troublemaker, and was never afraid to talk back to him. He got yessed to death on the road, but he wasn’t going to get it from me. He’d always had diva girlfriends, and I’m sure part of that personality type
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