Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris appear in a photo posted on his Twitter page in June 2010. - Provided courtesy of yfrog.com/n9exxj

Hugh Hefner defends Crystal Harris engagement: 'Age is just a number'

12/27/2010 by Corinne Heller

Hugh Hefner, the 84-year-old founder of Playboy, is brushing off criticism of his recent engagement to 24-year-old Playmate Crystal Harris.

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Celeb marriages, engagements of 2010

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Hugh Hefner says he got engaged to Crystal Harris over holiday weekend

"When you're in love, age is just a number," he said on his Twitter page.

Hefner and Harris became engaged on December 24, Christmas Eve. He said she burst in to tears when he popped the question.

Hefner founded nude magazine Playboy in 1953. He is known for his wild parties and has often been seen in public surrounded by an entourage of Playmates, or Playboy models. Harris was Playboy's Miss December in 2009.

This will be the third marriage for Hefner, who stars in the E! reality series "The Girls Next Door." In recent years, he has lived in his mansion in Bel Air with several girlfriends, including Kendra Wilkinson and Holly Madison, who received their own spin-off shows. He has been linked to Harris since about 2009.

Hefner and Playmate Kimberley Conrad were married between 1989 and March of this year. They have two sons - Marston, 20, and Cooper, 19. Hefner divorced his first wife, Mildred Williams, in 1959 after 10 years of marriage. They have two children - Christie, 52, and David, 55.