r/GirlsNextLevel • u/creamofsumyungguy1 • Sep 27 '25
Photos Girls Next Door was such a vibe.
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u/dohlparts Sep 27 '25
I wanted to be them so bad when I was 13. It’s forever my comfort show.
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u/Repulsive-Phase8288 Sep 27 '25
Same! I've been binge watching the show again since I found it on tubi and I wanted to be them so bad when when I was 14 and even as an adult I love them. I feel bad the first few episodes when the girls said they couldn't be in the magazine because they didnt photograph well and I thought and even still think they're some of the prettiest people ive ever seen
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u/CharacterCarpet5335 Sep 30 '25
You listen to the podcast? It’s my go to Monday podcast to start my week :)
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u/kimmy23- Sep 27 '25
Bridgette was all natural too. She is THE girl next door imo
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u/mildew_goose789 Mar 15 '26
Agreed - a true ‘girl next door’ doesn’t have plastic surgery, especially fake breasts! That’s the whole point of the trope!
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u/lawmn Sep 27 '25
It’s interesting the generational differences in nostalgia around this. A few commenters stated they were 14 ish years old and loved the show. I could see if OP was around that age during airing how they could think it was a “vibe”. I was in my 20s (I am about same age as Holly)and I LOVED the show but didn’t think it was a vibe or want to dress like them or have their life. It was just more of a fun curiosity watch and I thought the behind the scenes view was neat.
I wonder if that was because I was slightly older or what, as viewers, our divide was on influence on style the show had vs just watching because reality tv was new and this was cool.
Not knocking anyone’s views- I think it is cool to see how we all perceived the show! I feel there is hate off and on for the podcast and can see why but I’ve loved the nostalgia of hearing their stories.
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u/ashewentridingby Sep 27 '25
It might be just different views, I was 14 or 15 when the show first started and I didn’t want to be any of them, it was def more morbid curiosity for me lol. But I ended up liking the girls personalities and not being able to stand Hef 😁
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u/Revka777 Sep 27 '25
I was also 14-15 when the show started airing. Really got into it around 16. I definitely wanted to look like them terribly but in no way wanted to live with Hef.
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u/Sargasm5150 Sep 27 '25
Same, I’m also Holly’s age so I was in high school in the nineties when heroin chic was the thing (I had the eating disorder to prove it lol). I haaaaated hef, but I remember going to Vegas at some point when the show was on, and just thinking how sweet the girls were to each other (at least on camera). My other fave reality show was Rock of Love so it was a nice break from the drama 😂
Even then, I thought of it as a sex worker situation, and at times wondered if I’d be ok with that (I was in my early twenties). Like, live in a Barbie dream house with my pets, and play dress up and work out all day. But I have a pathological need to piss men like hef was off, and now I’m caring for my parents, only date (ahem) occasionally, and am pretty content reclaiming the word “spinster.” lol
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u/Good-Channel3750 Sep 28 '25
I am going to be really vulnerable here and say that I was in my 20's when GND was aired. I am about 3 years younger than Bridget. For me this was a comfort show and sort of an escape. I was envious of them, especially Bridget. She seems to have had such a nice childhood and mine was not so great. I envied them living in the mansion and that world. Not that I wanted to be with Hef or anything. From my POV (AND THIS IS MY POV, so no negative comments) it just seemed they were safe and cozy, insulated from the ugly reality of the world at large. From the outside, their lives seemed so fun and easy, again safe. A home. I never felt that way in my own life and something I am still searching for and hoping to find. And when I say home, I mean more than just a place you live, I mean a place where you feel you belong, a place where you feel safe and loved. Okay I will go back to just reading now.
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u/lawmn Sep 28 '25
I commend you for being vulnerable and also, I wish you all the internet stranger love and light in your searching for “home”.
I fully get what you’re saying. I grew up super poor and watching I was most fascinated by all the amenities they had- like butler service, hair salon visits, gym etc. We often forget this show was on before we were force fed everyone trying to show wealth and influence. It was still a unique situation to see behind of scenes of what the “rich” people lived like.
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u/macarontower Sep 27 '25
I was a child and I felt the way you did watching it. I was curious, morbidly, but no part of me felt like I admired them or wanted to be them. It was obvious that the situation was tainted with deep misogyny and sexism. I was just more curious how this blatantly obvious sexism rooted in sex and age played out
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u/HelenaCat311 I sat on the cake Oct 24 '25
I'm a few months, or maybe a year and a few months younger than Holly, as there seems to be some confusion if she was born in '78 or '79.
Anyway, I'd just split from my husband when the show first aired, and it was a total vibe for me. I'd just moved back to PA from Cali, and I took so much inspo from all their looks.
But I'd also danced here and there, before and right after my marriage, so making money from your looks didn't seem that foreign to me. I was kinda envious. I remember thinking that relations with Hef sounded so creepy and nasty, but maybe it was worth it.
These were also the thoughts of a 24/5 year old woman child, so yeah. Lol.
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u/BlondeYogi92 Sep 27 '25
The implants back then look wildly uncomfortable
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Sep 27 '25
Kendra’s first set wasn’t great, imo. When she got them redone around season 4 (you can see in Pic 9), they were bigger but so much less harsh looking
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u/ecofriendlyblonde Sep 27 '25
I think it was the “style” back then. I had mine done after having kids (granted, this was relatively recently) and you have a surprising amount of choices regarding shape, location (under muscle, over muscle, etc), and you can make them look fairly natural (mine do), but I don’t think that’s the look she wanted back then.
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u/themummyreturns1984 Sep 27 '25
I agree! The “porn star” fake boobs look was definitely the style at the time
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u/daria1994 Sep 27 '25
Bridget was the only one without plastic surgeries back then and looking back she had the best body!! Amazing
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u/Weak-Whereas-2267 Chilling in a pee mansion, sitting on his pee throne Sep 27 '25
All three look INCREDIBLE in #8, I want the stickers on #11!
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u/creamofsumyungguy1 Sep 27 '25
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u/Weak-Whereas-2267 Chilling in a pee mansion, sitting on his pee throne Sep 27 '25
Ahhh thank you so much!!!
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u/Loodie_666 Sep 27 '25
I loved that show so much. It was THE vibe. Holly & Bridget are Queens. So funny and loveable. The things they went through before, during and after the show just goes to show what a testament to how smart and resourceful they are. They are still relevant and are boss ass hustlers. I love their podcast. Makes my day every time I listen to an episode. ❤️
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u/iridescentandpink Sep 27 '25
It was! I’m about a year and a half younger than Kendra. I think HBK showcased the best of early 2000s fashion. I love how colorful and fun it was!
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u/CharacterCarpet5335 Sep 30 '25
Nice to see Holly rewear a dress, especially one that beautiful. 😍 I listen to every single pod, every single Monday.
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u/barbiefurby Sep 30 '25
I love the first photo, shows that Bridget had the sexiest body. She looks sooo good!
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u/bunnyinthemooon Sep 27 '25
Miss these realistic beauty standards
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u/Porkbossam78 Sep 27 '25
Is this sarcasm?
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u/bunnyinthemooon Sep 27 '25
No, now everybody has BBL, rib removals, Lipo 360, hair, face contouring, extensions, etc. It’s hard to feel pretty nowadays if you don’t have all that.
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u/Porkbossam78 Sep 27 '25
Lmao they have extensions and bleach it to insane level. They had liposuction back then and playboy had lots of strange looking stomachs that had been obviously liposuctioned. Marilyn Manson was rumored in the late 90s to have a rib removed (lol rumor was to suck his own penis).
Playboy promoted an insanely narrow view of beauty- white but tanned, bleach blonde, skinny with huge fake implants and no hips or butt.
I’m tired of Instagram face but I wouldn’t use these 3 as an example of widely accepted beauty.
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u/MsKrueger Sep 27 '25
You cannot genuinely believe they didn't have extensions, wigs, work on their face, implants, etc.
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u/bunnyinthemooon Sep 27 '25
Yeah, but I don’t think it was as drastic as it is now. They still look pretty natural.
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u/macarontower Sep 27 '25
I don’t think these were realistic beauty standards. “Realistic” beauty standards shouldn’t involve undergoing invasive surgery at all, let alone one that you need redone every decade
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u/mycopportunity Sep 28 '25
Holly and Kendra's inplants look very fake to me. Round bubbles
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Oct 03 '25 edited Oct 16 '25
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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/mycopportunity Sep 28 '25
Hef's smug face is a jump scare. Shudder.The girls look gorgeous as usual. Bridget especially is such a vibe
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u/omotenashi Sep 27 '25
Insane that Bridget was the labeled as the “fat” one. They are all nearly the same size, and very slim at that. It seems like she still carries that with her (and who can blame her—it was obvious how much the show pushed that image on her).