At 19 years old, former Playboy playmates - and twins - Karissa and Kristina Shannon's lives took a drastic turn after moving into Hugh Hefner's Playboy mansion. 

In a new interview, the twins, now 35, open up about the troubling experience they shared while living in the mansion with Hefner, who died in 2017, and fellow playmates, explaining how it led them down a dangerous web of addiction and sharing the steps they took to eventually find peace. 

"We always say ‘Playboy’ will always be a part of our lives. We were ‘Playboy’ fans and we still are ‘Playboy’ fans. Even though it turned out to be very traumatic for us, there were also a lot of high points," Karissa told People magazine. 

From the get-go, the Florida natives said they were met with bouts of "extreme jealousy" from other playmates after Hefner showed favoritism toward them. 

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"We got a lot of jealousy from the other playmates because we were twins. We were the first twins to each get our own months, which made Playboy history. We were the youngest playmates and the youngest girlfriends," Kristina said.

"When we're taking pictures, he would want to get in the middle of the twins to take a picture. Or he would be like, 'Can you move the twins toward the front of the table? I want to sit next to them.' So the girls started getting really jealous," Karissa noted.

"It made Kristina cry. Kristina literally cried and wanted to leave the mansion when we were shooting. And I told her, 'These girls are older. They know how to play the game better. But we're pretty. We're here. We've made it this far.' And so we ended up staying and Kristina got through it, but there was so much bullying," she added. 

During their four-year stay at the mansion, Karissa said the experience "left a huge hole in both of our hearts and our spirits."

"It really crumbled who we are, especially when [Hugh] took our religion away," she explains. "Our believing in Jesus became a big problem, and losing that was just really big trauma that we dealt with. We had no family that was there to back us up like a lot of the girls."

After moving out, the twins faced another wave of challenges, including loss and substance abuse.

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"When we moved out, we had a couple of years where we went through this individuality phase," Karissa said. "I feel like every set of twins goes through it, particularly in your early 20s. We were both into different things and trying to be individuals, because Hef really did force the twin thing on us, more than anyone else had ever. But we've always been extremely close. I believe we're twin flames, closer than most twins."

"Everyone was saying we were going through our 'Anna Nicole phase'" Kristina said. "We gained weight. There was alcohol and pills. We were really unhealthy and lost and, even at points, suicidal. We had no one. It was just us trying to figure it out after losing ourselves."

After hitting rock-bottom, the duo decided to move back to their home state of Michigan. 

"We drove the whole way without stopping until we got to Michigan. I remember getting into Colorado and smelling that fresh air ... it was just different," Karissa said. "Being in nature desensitized us. We ended up being diagnosed with manic depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Being outside the city helped us slow down."

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"We were totally just ready to be selfish for the first time. And we were all about God and praying constantly to Jesus," she added. "We were literally praying and just trying to change our lives. And I feel like this is when we really grew up."

"I feel like out of all of this, God was humbling us," Kristina noted. "He was humbling us and letting us know, 'I have another plan for you.' He's restoring us, and that's what we feel like now. We are completely different people, but still ourselves."

"We're still the playful twins who did Playboy, but we care about other things now. We are all about organics. Everything we eat, all our food is organic. All our water's alkaline, our sheets are organic," she added. 

These days, the twins continue to prioritize their mental and physical health the best way they can. 

"We meditate every day together, and we're into meal-prepping and not eating out, really self-care and just taking time for ourselves and learning how to be selfish, learning how to say no," Karissa said.

"We went in our hearts, we went through our healing era, which took years. I didn't think we would ever come out of it. But Michigan changed us. We love being in Michigan and then going to L.A. or Vegas for work," Kristina added. 

An official cause of death has been revealed for Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa.

According to the Office of the Medical Investigator in New Mexico, a final autopsy obtained by Fox News Digital shows that Hackman had a "history of congestive heart failure" in addition to "severe chronic hypertensive changes, kidneys."

The legendary actor had a "bi-ventricular pacemaker" placed in April 2019, documents stated. "Neurodegenerative features consistent with Alzheimer's Disease," were also noted in the autopsy.

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"Autopsy showed severe atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease, with placement of coronary artery stents and a bypass graft, as well as a previous aortic valve replacement," the documents stated.

"Remote myocardial infarctions were present involving the left ventricular free wall and the septum, which were significantly large. Examination of the brain showed microscopic findings of advanced stage Alzheimer's disease."

Hackman tested negative for Hantavirus. "Testing for carbon monoxide was less than 5% saturation, in keeping with a normal range," the medical examiner noted.

A toxicology report found trace amounts of acetone in Hackman's system when he died. The solvent used for chemicals is "also a product of diabetic- and fasting-induced ketoacidosis as well as a metabolite following isopropanol ingestion," according to the report.

Hackman's toxicology test showed acetone levels at 5.3 mg/dl, where as reported normal endogenous acetone levels in blood are up to 0.3 mg/dL.

The findings are consistent with a prolonged level of fasting.

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Hackman and Arakawa's bodies were found Feb. 26 by maintenance workers Jesse Kesler and Roland Lowe Begay. Kesler, who had worked as a personal contractor for the couple for 16 years, made a frantic 911 call.

A search warrant affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital revealed that Arakawa was found decomposed with bloating on her face and mummification in her hands and feet.

Hackman was found to have the same signs of decomposition as his wife. 

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Detectives initially described the couple's deaths as "suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation," according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital.

Officials confirmed that no external trauma was seen on either Hackman or Arakawa, and New Mexico authorities promptly launched a criminal investigation into their deaths.

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Through a search of Arakawa's computer, investigators discovered she researched COVID-19 and flu-like symptoms multiple times before she died. Investigators recovered an email Arakawa sent to her massage therapist on Feb. 11 in which she admitted Hackman took a "covid test" after experiencing "flu/cold-like symptoms."

Prior to her email, Arakawa had researched "COVID" at least four times between Feb. 8-11 before pursuing medical attention at the Cloudberry Health center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, documents showed.

"This data suggests that Betsy was actively researching medical conditions related to COVID-19 and flu-like symptoms in the days leading up to her death," the report stated.

Arakawa died due to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which is transmitted from animals to humans and is commonly found in rodents, the New Mexico Department of Health confirmed.

Hantavirus is characterized by "flu-like symptoms consisting of fever, muscle aches, cough, sometimes vomiting and diarrhea that can progress to shortness of breath and cardiac or heart failure and lung failure," Chief Medical Investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell explained during a news conference last month.

Hackman was 95 at the time of his death, and his wife 63.

Fox News Digital's Stephanie Giang-Paunon and Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this post.