Hugh Hefner's Playboy reality show franchise is set to grow again in August, with the debut of a 'The Girls Next Door' spin-off called 'The Girls Next Door: Bunny House.' Among the cast-members will be Jayde Nicole, a familiar face to anyone who has been following the soap opera of contemporary L.A. life as it has played out on the small screen.
Nicole, who was named Playboy's Playmate of the Year in 2008, has appeared on 'The Girls Next Door,' 'The Hills' and her then-boyfriend Brody Jenner's reality series, 'Bromance.' She also received some unwanted attention in the gossip press over a bizarre incident last summer, when she was roughed up at a nightclub
by 'Girls Gone Wild' impresario Joe Francis. Nicole spoke to PopEater about clothes, guys, and the pressures of living her life on reality TV.
"Being on 'The Hills' was really stressful," says Nicole over the telephone from Los Angeles, with her longhair teacup chihuahua, Pumpkin, audible in the background.
On our new show, 'Bunny House,' they let you be your true personality and it's a lot more fun. 'The Hills' was a lot more drama, they were always trying to create drama and there was a lot more guidance on where you were supposed to go and what you were supposed to say," she said.
Nicole will share the screen with fellow-bunnies Crystal Harris, Hope Dworaczyk, Jamie Edmondson, Crustal McCahill and one aspiring Playmate, Claire Sinclair. She promises lots of bikini parties and of course, the bunnies' inimitable wardrobe.
"A Playmate's style is a very sexy look, of course, but it's also very classy and girly and kind of cutesie," Nicole says. " A jeans cut-off short with a bight-colored tank-top is something that I always do. I wear a ton of Bebe, Bebe is like my go-to for fun, summer white dresses and anything cute. And Marciano I wear a lot of, but my favorite store is Forever 21. I'm wearing it right now! You can get shorts, a top and shoes for like 20 bucks."
But life in front of the lens is not the non-stop party that it might appear to be. Even Nicole's much-publicized relationship with quintessential reality hunk Brody Jenner also had a down-side, she says.
"We're really good friends now--surprisingly enough," Nicole says with a giggle. "I definitely thought at the beginning that we would have turned out to be enemies. But we still keep in touch, and things are good."
So what was it like dating such a heart-throb?
"Looks are not everything, and he definitely is a sweetheart but it's a lot to take on to date someone like that," she says. "When someone's life has been on reality television for the majority of their life, it's a whole different type of relationship than you're used to [such as] dating a normal guy from your high school. It's a really big learning experience and it's not as fun and dreamy as people think it is."
Her current boyfriend, nightclub entrepreneur Jesse Waits, is slated to appear in the pilot--edits permitting--along with Pumpkin.
"Jesse is awesome, he's really sweet, and he treats me like a princess," she said over the phone. "In fact he's sitting next to me now."
Waits declined to speak with PopEater because, Nicole explained, "he's shy." Something tells us he might not know what he's getting into.
"The Girls Next Door: Bunny House" will premiere on E! August 8.
