Years before The Girls Next Door<\/em><\/a> made Holly Madison<\/strong><\/a> a star, Playboy had another reality show that followed the brand\u2019s search for a new model \u2014 and one contestant is opening up about her time<\/a> on the Fox special.<\/p>\n \u201cPlayboy was not my dream,\u201d Shallan Meiers<\/strong> recalls in Us Weekly<\/em>\u2018s exclusive clip from season 2 of Secrets of Playboy<\/em>, premiering Monday, July 10, on A+E.<\/p>\n Meiers was working as a waitress at Spago in Las Vegas when a scout from Playboy approached her and asked whether her breasts were real. \u201cMy face just looked like this,\u201d Meiers explained before miming an expression of shock. \u201cI let her know I was only 20, so she told me I should talk to my mom.\u201d<\/p>\n Before her conversation with the scout, Meiers had \u201cnever even seen\u201d an issue of Playboy<\/em>, so her mother advised her to flip through a copy and see if she felt \u201ccomfortable\u201d after looking at the photos.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember looking at the Playboy<\/em> and thinking, \u2018Wow, these women are gorgeous,’\u201d Meiers told the camera. \u201cI thought there was no way they could make me look like those girls because those girls \u2014 they just don\u2019t look real.\u201d<\/p>\n Meiers\u2019 interest was piqued after looking at the magazine, but she was still a bit apprehensive about the idea of posing nude. \u201cI knew whatever [the scout was offering] was a big opportunity, it\u2019s just whether or not I could be comfortable enough to go through with it,\u201d she recalled. \u201cWhat I told my mom is, \u2018I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m gonna be able to get naked.\u2019 She goes, \u2018Well, there\u2019s only one way to find out.’\u201d<\/p>\n At the time, Meiers was \u201cincredibly shy,\u201d to the point that she felt \u201cuncomfortable\u201d even walking around in her bathing suit. \u201cI was scared, but tired of being scared,\u201d she said, adding that she eventually said yes because she was afraid of having regrets in the future.<\/p>\n Meiers ultimately appeared on the Fox competition show The Girl Next Door: The Search for a Playboy Centerfold<\/em>, which aired in 2002. She was one of seven semifinalists but lost to Lauren Anderson<\/strong>, who was Playmate of the Month in July of that year.<\/p>\n Anderson is also set to appear in season 2 of Secrets of Playboy<\/em>, which will explore the aftermath of several women\u2019s associations with the brand. Season 1, which featured interviews with Madison<\/a>, 43, and Bridget Marquardt<\/strong><\/a>, aired last year.<\/p>\n Madison later said that it was difficult for her to watch<\/a> the docuseries after sharing her experience with its creators. \u201cI watched all of them except episode two. I don\u2019t want to watch myself talk about my trauma again,\u201d she recalled during an August 2022 episode of her \u201cGirls Next Level\u201d podcast<\/a>. \u201cI can\u2019t take it. But every other episode, I watched \u2014 and it came out over the course of 12 weeks. I had nightmares after I watched them. I had a nightmare I was back at the mansion every single night after Secrets of Playboy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n Shallan Meiers<\/span> Youtube<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n![\"Shallan](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Shallan-Meiers-Recalls-Feeling-Scared-to-Pose-Nude-in-Secrets-of-Playboy-Sneak-Peek2.jpg?w=700&quality=86&strip=all\")
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\n Shallan Meiers, 2006<\/span> Jim Smeal\/BEI\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n