Nicholas Carpenter has revealed that he and former The Girls Next Door star Bridget Marquardt are already married.
The filmmaker made the announcement during the October 19 episode of Girls Next Level, the podcast Marquardt hosts with her former reality-show costar Holly Madison, according to People.
Marquardt said they have been together for 18 years and that October is their anniversary month.
The couple did not reveal when or where they married.
Marquardt Says They Still Need to Have a Wedding
The episode, titled “Bridget’s Husband Tells All!,” introduced Carpenter as her spouse from the outset. During the discussion, he acknowledged that listeners might not have known they were married.
“Shhh! We still have to have a wedding,” Marquardt told him.
Carpenter assured her that a celebration would happen at some point. “I don’t know about that,” she replied. Neither outlined plans for that future event.
A Family Film Connection Brought Carpenter to the Mansion
Carpenter recalled that his first visit to the Playboy Mansion began with an invitation to a screening of the 1939 film Of Mice and Men. His grandfather, Hal Roach, had produced it, and the organizers wanted a family member there.
He said he received the invitation while at a restaurant in Studio City and was asked to come over that afternoon. In the podcast conversation, he admitted that he was tired and initially reluctant to attend.
Marquardt was living at the mansion during her relationship with Hugh Hefner. Viewers knew her, Madison and Kendra Wilkinson from the E! reality series about their lives there.
Carpenter and Marquardt also worked together on the 2009 horror anthology The Telling, which he co-directed with Harry Grigsby. Marquardt and Madison appeared in the film.
This is Marquardt’s second marriage. She was previously married to Chad Marquardt from 1997 to 2008.
A Fake Spider Ring Set Up the Real Proposal
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Marquardt announced their engagement on October 1, 2015, sharing a photograph of her diamond-covered spider ring beside a Halloween sign reading “Till Death Do Us Part.”
In a second Instagram post that afternoon, she identified the designer as Lynn Ban and explained that Carpenter had wanted to buy something traditional. She preferred an unusual design that suited her personality and later clarified that she was not particularly fond of spiders, according to Us Weekly.
In an interview at the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride on October 4, 2015, Marquardt recalled Carpenter taking her to a favorite hiking spot and planting a fake spider ring in the dirt along the route.
Marquardt noticed it and picked it up. The coincidence surprised her because they had already discussed the real ring she liked. Believing the object belonged to someone else, she moved to put it back.
When she turned around, Carpenter was on one knee with the actual engagement ring.
She Considered a Halloween Wedding Back in 2015
At the time of that interview, Marquardt had considered a destination wedding or a Halloween theme. She had not yet made serious arrangements or assembled a guest list.
She described the excitement of planning something creative with Carpenter that would bring their family and friends together.
Marquardt Also Hosts Ghost Bunny
Marquardt hosts Ghost Bunny, a weekly paranormal podcast featuring interviews about ghost hunting, alleged hauntings and other unexplained experiences.
An October 6 episode featured filmmakers Adam Rodness and Stu Stone discussing her involvement in Don’t F**k With Ghosts and their series The Great American Ghost Hunt, which brings celebrity guests to locations reputed to be haunted.