Relationships in the public eye are usually messy. But when you mix a former Playboy Mogul’s "number one" girlfriend with the world’s most famous paranormal investigator, things get weird fast. Holly Madison and Zak Bagans spent nearly six years in a cycle that felt less like a romance and more like a haunting—always reappearing just when you thought the ghost had been laid to rest.
They’re done now. Like, actually done.
In March 2025, Holly took to her Girls Next Level podcast to confirm what many had suspected after noticing a flurry of social media unfollows. She told her co-host Bridget Marquardt that she and the Ghost Adventures star had broken up "for good, for good."
No more on-again, off-again.
The Museum Meet-Cute
It all started back in May 2019. Holly visited Zak’s Haunted Museum in Las Vegas. It makes sense, right? Holly has always been vocal about her love for the spooky and the macabre. She even has "Future Ghost" in her Instagram bio.
They kept it quiet at first. Fans only started piecing it together because their Instagram Stories featured the same lighting, the same blurred backgrounds, and that specific "Vegas Gothic" aesthetic Zak carries everywhere.
By June 2019, the secret was out.
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It felt like a match made in a very dark, velvet-lined heaven. Holly had just finalized her divorce from Pasquale Rotella, and Zak was... well, Zak. He’s a guy who spends his nights screaming at shadows in abandoned asylums. To a woman who survived the high-stress, clinical atmosphere of the Playboy Mansion, maybe a haunted museum felt like a sanctuary.
Why the "Off-Again" Kept Happening
They broke up in February 2021. Then they didn't. Then they did.
Sources close to the couple (the usual TMZ whisperers) would say things were "amicable" and they were "still friends." But by 2023, they were back together. Honestly, the timeline is a headache to track if you aren't looking at the timestamps of their social media follows.
Holly has been incredibly candid about her life recently, especially regarding her late-in-life autism diagnosis. She mentioned in 2024 that Zak was actually quite supportive of it. He "just always kind of understood" her, she said.
That makes the final implosion in 2025 even more jarring for fans who thought they had finally found their rhythm.
The 2025 Breakup and the "Receipts"
Things took a sharp turn for the toxic in May 2025.
It wasn't just a quiet split. Holly started posting to her Instagram Stories about "receipts." She didn’t initially name names, but the timing was impossible to ignore. She claimed she found out her "most recent ex" had been cheating on her.
The number kept climbing.
First, it was three women. Then four. By the end of the weekend, Holly alleged she had been contacted by seven different women claiming to have had a thing with Zak while they were together. She even posted a photo from inside a Costco with the caption: "Some people were cheating in bulk."
Savage.
Zak’s response was predictably dismissive. He told TMZ they hadn't spoken in months and pointed out they had been on and off for six years, essentially implying that the "cheating" might have happened during one of their many gaps.
The Reality of the "Spooky" Romance
What most people get wrong about Holly and Zak is thinking it was a publicity stunt. When you look at the duration—six years is a lifetime in Vegas years—it’s clear there was a real connection there.
But there was also a lot of friction.
Holly hinted on her Patreon that Zak wasn't exactly supportive during a period of grief following the death of her friend, Luke "The Dingo" Trembath. She noted that his lack of kindness during that time hurt worse than the actual infidelity.
That’s a heavy realization.
It’s the classic case of realizing the person you’ve romanticized in your head doesn’t actually exist. Holly admitted as much in 2023, saying she realized the vision she had of him was something she’d basically "made up" to fit what she wanted.
Where They Stand Now
As of early 2026, the bridge is burnt.
- Social Media Status: They do not follow each other. In the world of modern celebrity, an unfollow is the equivalent of a legal restraining order.
- Professional Focus: Zak is still buried in Ghost Adventures and his museum. Holly is leaning hard into her podcast and her "Girls Next Door" legacy.
- Dating Life: Zak told reporters shortly after the split that he is "dating now and moving on."
If you're following this story, the best thing to do is look at the patterns. Holly has spent years deconstructing her past—first with Hefner, then with the "Mean Girls" of the mansion. This seems like her latest chapter of "de-hoaxing" her own life.
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For those looking for "actionable" insights from this celebrity mess: believe people when they show you who they are the first time. The "on-again, off-again" cycle is usually just a long-form way of avoiding the inevitable.
If you want the full story, the Girls Next Level podcast is where the real nuance lives. It’s better to hear the "lore" directly from the source than from a filtered Instagram post.