Instead, the Chicago-born centerfold-turned-activist leads a decidedly stripped-down life with her boyfriend of three years. Far from the wacky roles that made them both famous, McCarthy says, the couple's days and nights are spent quietly at home with her six-year-old son, Evan. Two years after she took his autism diagnosis public, Evan is recovered, thanks to a detox program McCarthy describes in a new book out this month, Healing and Preventing Autism, coauthored by Dr. Jerry Kartzinel.

MICHIGAN AVENUE: You've charted your son's diagnosis and treatment in two previous books: Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism and Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds. What made you decide to write about autism again?
JENNY MCCARTHY: A lot of moms who have kids with autism don't have access to doctors who treat it. This is literally the most informative, complete guide for parents, 400 pages of the best information that's out there right now. Dr. Kartzinel is the number-one doctor who heals or treats kids who have autism.

MA: You've gone against the medical community in advocating a diet and detox program to cure autism. What led you down this path?
JM: I Googled autism and found a community called Generation Rescue, which is a parent-run organization of moms who have been teaching other moms about diet, nutrition, supplements, and detox, and they have done an amazing job of healing their kids. I thought, Well, do I follow this path of moms who are saying their kids got better, or do I follow the path of the medical community who say these kids can't get better? So I followed these parents and I'm so glad I did, because within a year of doing diet and nutrition with Evan, he lost his autism diagnosis.

MA: What is Evan like now?
JM: He is the most talkative, social six-year-old little boy, who loves to play with his friends.

MA: How do you address the fact that you don't have the support of the mainstream medical community?
JM: Since the increase in the number of vaccinations, there has been an increase in autism. I can understand why the other side won't admit to it, because they're afraid of all of these deadly diseases coming back and people not vaccinating [their children]. But right now, you've got a 1 in 84 chance of a boy having autism. Those numbers, to me, are a lot scarier than my kid getting the chicken pox. And that's where I get so upset with people thinking that I am part of an antivaccine group. Everyone is missing the point here. It is: Slow down the vaccines, pick the ones that are the most important to you, and clean out the horrible ingredients that are still in there.

MA: Have you worried about the consequences of opening up your private life on an issue like this?
JM: I kind of made a deal with God, saying, "If you help me and you show me how to heal Evan, I promise I will teach the world how I did it." The hard part is everyone from this day on will know Evan's business. People say, "Don't you get worried that you made him the poster child for autism?" And I say, "He's the poster child for hope."

MA: Have you worried about the consequences of opening up your private life on an issue like this?
JM: I kind of made a deal with God, saying, "If you help me and you show me how to heal Evan, I promise I will teach the world how I did it." The hard part is everyone from this day on will know Evan's business. People say, "Don't you get worried that you made him the poster child for autism?" And I say, "He's the poster child for hope."

MA: It must be such a wonderful thing for Evan to have Jim Carrey as a father figure—do they play together a lot?
JM: Jim has become Evan's best friend. And Evan's dad [director John Asher] has remained Evan's dad. So I feel like Evan actually has the best of both worlds.

He loves doing scenes in a movie. He memorizes them and Jim knows the other parts. Like The Grinch: They'll act it out in the living room and Evan—I'm so scared to say it!—is an amazing mimic and actor, so he'll do the scenes verbatim with Jim. I have the best seat in the theater every night in the living room.

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MA: Do you and Jim talk about getting married?
JM: I will never get married. I hate that I say "never" because the universe always says "tricked ya." But Jim and I, we talk about it a lot—just how funny it is that everyone wants us to or expects us to. When you've gotten married and divorced, you realize, OK, that wasn't a set-in-stone agreement. We don't know why the piece of paper has to prove our commitment. I think our words are just as powerful. I already call him my husband. It's a name. "Oh, come here, husband." So I don't feel the need at all to wear a white dress again. I did it. I marked that one off the fantasy file.

MA: You're both into screwball comedy—is life at home pretty goofy?
JM: We're so used to doing a little bit of a persona on TV or movies that when we're home, we're very, very real. We're probably the most boring couple. We read books, we don't watch much TV, and we just talk. We're not goofy with each other. I mean, yeah, we'll tell stories and they're animated. But for the most part, the reason we're really deeply in love is because we have a connection that goes past any goofiness.

MA: You grew up on the South Side of Chicago and went to Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School. Do you still come to visit often?
JM: I have 300 relatives that still live in Chicago. I mean, I still consider that to be my home more than LA. I make fun of LA people.

MA: What kind of places do you visit when you're in the city?
JM: There is no place in the freaking world like Chicago. I have to always hit Giordano's Pizza for deep-dish—that's the must-goto. And I'll try some trendy restaurants just to see what the scene is like. The Peninsula is one of my favorite places to stay. And then I go back to my old neighborhood on the South Side and I visit the Polish grocery store I used to work at called 7-9-11.

MA: Does Jim ever come with you when you visit?
JM: I just went with Jim to visit my old house the last time I was home. I said, "Let's go to my old neighborhood," and we drove there, in a limo, funnily enough, and we both knocked on the door on this tiny, tiny—we're talking small—little brick house. This is on the southwest side, in the Midway area, right by the airport. And this man opened the door, he didn't speak much English. He didn't recognize Jim or me at all—no clue—and I said, "Can we please walk through? I grew up here as a little girl." And he's like, "OK." He literally just plopped on the couch and watched TV while we walked through the entire house.

MA: It must have been strange to have Jim in your childhood home.
JM: To see Jim in the tiny, beat-up home that I grew up in was hilarious. He had to bow his head down to get to rooms because they were small, little spaces. In the basement I showed him where I did my cheerleading practice moves, and where I used to pretend I was famous and do my little Mr. Microphone shows. And then I took him in the backyard and showed him where I played basketball and had my name written in cement in the backyard. So it was really cute; I got to bring Jim on a walk through my past.

MA: You got your start as a Playboy Playmate, and have appeared in the magazine several times since then. Do you ever intend to pose again?
JM: I love Playboy, and I owe them so much for giving me that first step into Hollywood. But I won't be posing again, I'll tell you that. I'm 36—not that that means I'm 100, but I just really like my clothes on now.

MA: How do you stay in shape?
JM: I do bikram yoga about three times a week. And then I also still do portion control with food and I really make sure my fillers are fruits and vegetables. And you know, you don't have that in Chicago. It's just, How much food can you put on the plate? I really had to learn a different way of eating, telling restaurants to bring only half my food.

MA: Where do you stand on plastic surgery and Botox?
JM: I think plastic surgery is fun if it makes you feel good. I'm all for looking better, so I plan on doing whatever I want when the time comes. I love Botox, I absolutely love it. I get it minimally, so I can still move my face. But I really do think it's a savior.

MA: Have you kept in touch with your old friends from Chicago?
JM: I think a lot about my high school sweetheart, Tony LoBianco, who I dated from the time I was 12 till I was 19. So he was, like, my whole life, and then I posed for Playboy at 20. I've never talked to him since, and I've always wondered what he thought. So when I think of Chicago, I think, I wonder what Tony LoBianco is doing! And don't think I didn't try to Facebook Tony LoBianco or MySpace him—I've looked for him.

MA: You're on Facebook?
JM: I signed up for Facebook a long time ago, but I have no picture. But there are people who are pretending to be me, and they have more stuff about me on there than I do. So I'm the Jenny McCarthy with no anything on there.

MCCARTHY’S QUICK PICKS:
Beauty: "Emu oil. It's great for antiaging and it's my favorite thing to put on my face because there are no perfumes or dyes."
Fashion: "I am addicted to AG Jeans. Their material has stretch in the denim so they feel like sweatpants." Also: "Uggs because they're so yummy; Chloe is my favorite designer."
Web sites: Shopbop.com and Net-a-porter.com.
Music: "Right now I can't get enough of Jeff Buckley and his little song ‘Hallelujah.' It is so beautiful."
Guilty pleasure: "If I say, OK, I'm gonna go for it, my mom ships me out a Giordano's pizza. My favorite is sausage and onion."
Cocktail: Cranberry and vodka.
Sports teams: "I am a White Sox fan still. God forbid you say you're a Cubs fan when you're from the South Side. I would be shot and killed."