'Wheel of Fortune' icon Vanna White reveals the untold story behind her Playboy cover

Vanna White was on the cover of the May 1987 issue of Playboy magazine, but she never actually posed for the magazine.

In a revealing new interview with FOX News, the "Wheel of Fortune" beauty opened up about the photos that appeared in Playboy, which she looks back on as a "mistake," and the untold story behind how they landed in the infamous magazine.

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White, who has been turning letters on the long-running game show for over thirty years, told the site that the photos had been taken years earlier when she was new to Los Angeles and struggling to make ends meet.

See photos of Vanna White through the years:

"When I first moved to Hollywood, I was too embarrassed to ask my dad for rent money. I was young and I wanted to do it on my own," she explained. "So, I did these lingerie shots and from the moment I said I would do them, I thought, 'I shouldn't be doing this, but I'm not going to ask my dad for money, so I'm just going to do it!'"

Later, when she became a household name as the co-host of "Wheel of Fortune" along with Pat Sajak, Hugh Hefner suddenly became interested in acquiring the photos, which he eventually ran on the cover of the magazine without her consent.

Playboy

"Hugh Hefner then bought those pictures," she said. "He's the one who put me on the cover of the magazine. I didn't do it for Playboy. I did not want them on there, but it happened."

Though the young star initially struggled with the reappearance of the racy photos, she received nothing but love from those around her, who understood her situation.

"I was very thankful that I had such support behind me. I remember going on 'Johnny Carson' and saying, 'I'm so sorry, this is what happened,'" she concluded. "This is a lesson that applies today: Never do anything that you don't want to do. Listen to your instincts and follow it. I said, 'I made a mistake, I'm sorry and I just hope I don't lose my job over it.' Fortunately, I didn't. I could have, you know? It was a great lesson to learn, but what can I say? I did something I shouldn't have done."

See photos from "Wheel of Fortune":

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