Hugh Hefner slaps ‘Runaway Bride’ sticker on July Playboy cover featuring ex-fiancée Crystal Harris

It was embarrassing enough for Hugh Hefner that his fiancée, Crystal Harris, left him at the altar earlier this week.

Playboy's July issue—which hits newsstands tomorrow—features Harris on the cover under the heading "Introducing Mrs. Crystal Hefner." The magazine had been shipped to the printer, Playboy said—too late, and too costly, to pull.

In an attempt to find some humor, and at least save a little face, Hefner produced a sticker with the phrase "Runaway Bride" to stick on the cover.

"Recent events call for a special sticker on the July cover," Hefner wrote on his Twitter feed. "Look for it on newsstands."

According to a spokeswoman for the magazine, the sticker is being applied to as many of Playboy's 100,000-plus newsstand copies as possible. (In May, Playboy sold 130,500 copies at the newsstand.)

But there's a bigger problem for Hefner: the sticker came in too late for Playboy's 1.4 million subscribers, all of which will be receiving the virgin issue. Harris' cover shoot took place several months ago, according to Playboy, and the July issue closed "a few months ago."

The sticker was produced on Wednesday, Hefner said.

Meanwhile, the 85-year-old icon says he still doesn't understand why the 25-year-old aspiring pop star would call off the engagement.

"I didn't see any of this coming," Hefner wrote. "But I'm glad things went wrong before the marriage instead of after. Live & learn."

"Crystal did an interview with Ryan Seacrest [on Wednesday] to explain everything, but I still don't have a clue."

Hefner noted that Harris called off the wedding on Tuesday—the same day her single, "Club Queen," was released on iTunes.

(Playboy's July issue, courtesy of Hugh Hefner)