Hefner's ex Madison happy with new man

Hugh Hefner's ex-girlfriend Holly Madison has said that she has never been happier than she is in her new relationship with All Time Low guitarist Jack Barakat.

Madison reportedly met Barakat on Twitter and the two have been dating since July 2010, although they waited until December last year to announce their relationship.

"He's a really down-to-earth guy," Madison told People. "I feel like he's really real and he knows me for who I am.

"I can say whatever in front of him and he's cool with it," she explained. "I love that Jack has a sense of humour and I can just be myself around him."

The former Girls Next Door star was one of Hefner's official girlfriends from 2001 to 2008, following which she has dated the likes of American illusionist Criss Angel and Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden.

"I don't need to be like Miss Priss or Betty Crocker," Madison said of her current relationship. "I feel like every guy that I dated before him expected that."

Madison recently spoke of her support for Hefner's decision to wed Crystal Harris, despite being open about her distrust of the Playboy playmate.