Alison Reynolds has a unique and totally inspiring marriage with a much younger man, see why age is simply a number to her and find out why she leads such a happy, healthy and productive life as a glamourous photographer.
1. Alison you have had a successful marriage to a much younger man, what the secret to your success there?
I have always looked younger than my age. Guess being small helps. Men my age are not as active as I am so I tend to like to hang out with someone who is younger. Younger men have always come after me. The one before Joel was 20 years younger. Joel is 12 years younger and it works so well. It's always good with us. We both like to dance and have a good time.
2. Do you think sex get better with age?
Sex does get better with age because you realize when you get older that if you work on your relationship and be exclusive that you don't think the grass is greener somewhere else. It's great right where you are! Joel is very romantic and he treats me like a queen. We both are in this marriage 100%. We laugh a lot. A good sense of humor is one of the things that drew me to Joel.
3. Being around the Playboy mansion for many years and so many beautiful women, what is the most interesting thing you've learned from that experience?
It taught me that I had to have confidence in myself at whatever age I am. I try to keep myself together not just for Joel but for me. When you see 12 new girls every year you can't compare yourself to them. You can only be the best you can be. I have a lot of close relationships with a lot of the Playmates. I'm used to that after all the years working so closely with them on their layouts for the magazine. Also seeing them at the Mansion not only now but in the late 70s when I worked as a social secretary for Hef. It's important to make them feel comfortable and to be interested in what they are doing.
Alison having fun with Holly Madison and Kendra from "The Girls Next Door"
4. You are a successful photographer, what do you like to shoot most and what do you think is beautiful?
I of course LOVE to shoot people. Faces of all types. And I love to make people look their best. Bringing the beauty out of them, especially when they they don't like to have their picture taken. With digital you can show them how great they look so it helps the shoot go well. I also love to shoot travel photos for Joel's travel column he has at the Washington Times Communities section online. They are a DC paper that we worked for when they had a print travel section. Now it is online. When you are an artist as I have been since 2nd grade, you can't help but see beauty everywhere. Whether it's a grand hotel or amazing scenery it is fun to capture and share.
5. What do you think keeps a marriage passionate?
A marriage keeps passionate with LOVE. To achieve love you must love yourself first then you can love another unconditionally. No one is perfect. That you have to understand from the get go. We all have our up and our down days. Be interested in what they are doing and give them space when they need it. And by all means do not be afraid to show them you love them. Make a moment special. Set the mood. Have fun.
6. You recently lost your beloved mother that you so loving took care of for so long. What advice can you share for those women who may be in that same situation?
My Mother and I were very close. In fact Joel is very close to his Mom also. so in 1999 we took both our Mom's to England for what we called the Mum's tour. She had not traveled very much so we thought it would be nice to see where the ancestors came from. When she still lived on her own in Hawaii I would call her every day. I visited her a lot. The last year she was there I went every month to cook for her and try to make her life easier. When I realized she could not live on her own anymore I told Joel we needed to redo our house. So we went through 9 months of intense work on the house to put in a 2nd bath for her and to make the house work better for us. She lived here with us for almost 6 years until her death last March. She was 98. I miss her a lot.
https://www.facebook.com/AlisonReynolds.BigAlPeoplesPal
7. You have had many careers in your life already, anything else you want to do in the future?
I want to get into writing and painting. I used to paint when I visited Mom in Hawaii. One of my paintings hung in her room here at our house. It was a painting of the view from her garage in Hawaii. I used it on her memorial card for her service we had for her in Hawaii for her neighbors and friends. She lived on a dead end street until the last few years when they built 300 houses and opened up the dead end and made it a very busy street. The painting was of the way it was with the dead end and a great view of the ocean. That's how I wanted her to remember her home.
Hef and Allison on her birtday in June
Heather, Jamie, Hef, Brande and Alison
Hefs birthday 1976
Photography of Holly Madison as Jean Harlow
"Love is the Answer." 
"Love is the Answer." 
"Love is the Answer." 
"Love is the Answer." 
"Love is the Answer." 
"Love is the Answer." 
