Hefner still taking the celebrity news headlines – via Twitter

It seems that despite being part of the celebrity news culture since the 1950s, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner will continue to grab the headlines way into his twilight years – after announcing his engagement to a woman 60 years his senior.

The magazine mogul and infamous ladies’ man revealed to his army of Twitter followers after Christmas that he had proposed to 24-year-old Playmate Crystal Harris on Christmas Eve and that his intended had burst into tears when he popped the question.

Hefner tweeted: “When I gave Crystal the ring, she burst into tears. This is the happiest Christmas weekend in memory," adding later, “Yes, the ring I gave Crystal is an engagement ring. I didn't mean to make a mystery out of it. A very merry Christmas to all." Crystal herself, who appeared as Playboy’s Playmate of the Month in December 2009, later tweeted that she had noticed her engagement was trending on Twitter and revealed that her new fiancé had bought her a painting from one of her favourite artists and linked a picture to it for all to see.

Since then, the engagement has continued to be the talk of tinsel town and was even brought up as part of a controversial act by TV funnyman Ricky Gervais as he hosted this year’s Golden Globes. After mentioning the hit AMC zombie series The Walking Dead, Gervais said: “Talking of the walking dead, congratulations to Hugh Hefner, who is getting married at age 84 to 24-year-old beauty Crystal Harris. When asked why she was marrying him, she said, 'He lied about his age. I thought he was 94.”

Hefner, though, appears to have seen the funny side, once more taking to Twitter to send his comments on the joke. “The Golden Globes was a blast,” he said, “They made fun of everyone, including Crystal and me." When one of his followers asked if he had been at all offended by the jibes, he replied: "Age is still just a number … Jokes about age will begin to seem lame as we all begin to live longer, fuller lives."

However, this is not the first time the smoking jacket-wearing lothario has set the celebrity gossip columns alight with his romantic exploits, as not only has he now married twice before, he has also had a number of high profile relationships with stars of his gentleman’s magazine on numerous occasions – some of which have gone on to successful careers in reality TV. Last year, he divorced his second wife, former Playmate Kimberly Conrad, after spending six years married to his first wife Mildred Williams between 1953 and 1959.