Chapter 3

Zander: So many people have a lot to say about my relationship with Carmen. I love this woman more than anything and she has blessed me with two beautiful children. We're not perfect but we are working towards building the best foundation for our family. Together or not, this is my soulmate and I will always love her.

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"When I filmed the live action Barbie film, I was a sixteen year old girl in high school. The movie was released when I was seventeen and I was immediately thrust into the spotlight during the opening weekend." I smile slightly. "I became this big role model for young girls in such a short time which was not what I wanted. I was offered the opportunity to star in a movie and I took it."

"What were your expectations going into the project?" Busy Phillips asks as I adjust myself on the sofa.

I think about it for a moment, "None of us expected it to be as big as it was. This was the first live action Barbie film so you nobody knew whether it would be a box office success or failure because there wasn't another movie to compare it to. Nobody knew who I was at that time so why would they watch me on the big screen? I became the IT girl overnight and it put a lot of pressure on me."

"What type of pressure?"

"The studio wanted to make a sequel so I had to drop out of high school to commit to the project. I was meeting with a dietitian on a regular basis to promote healthy living and I had a stylist to maintain that Barbie image." I roll my eyes. "They took away my identity to maintain the image they created and I hated every second of it because I had to be this person from the moment that I woke up. When I stepped out with family and friends, I had to keep this persona up because it was likely that I would be photographed."

Busy looks at me in shock, "It's crazy to think that you were so young at the time."

"I know and after the second movie was released the following year, I went on a three month tour as Barbie." I laugh a little. "That's when I found out that I liked being on stage but not as Barbie. Most people referred to me as Barbie since they didn't know my name."

"That's wild." Busy shakes her head. "What happened next?"

"Many networks approached the studio for a Barbie series and they ordered three seasons but I turned it down. The studio were livid because they did not expect me to stand up for myself but people forget that I was only seventeen when I made it big and I was still figuring out my life." I run my hands through my hair. "My family were great in ensuring that I stood my ground and my dad actually help book my Baywatch role."

"I remember being so shocked when I saw you on Baywatch but then you became this mega star." Busy laughs and I join her. "I remember being so jealous but also admiring the power that you possessed. I can only imagine the amount of hate you got from leaving Barbie behind to become a bombshell lifeguard."

"Good girl gone bad." I wink at the camera. "Everybody went crazy on me but I didn't care because I was living my best life and being on Baywatch allowed me to embrace my silly side. I got to interact with people as myself, go to a bunch of events and start experiencing life the way I imagined."

"Then you did your first Playboy cover in 2007." Busy states and I smile as the picture appears on screen.

"The studio went ballistic on me but I was really happy and now I get to be the person that I want to be with no regrets."

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CarmenAcker: Life in plastic, it's fantastic.

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"Welcome to GQ, I'm Zander."

I smile at the camera, "And I'm Carmen Acker."

"Today we are going to be asking eachother questions that I guess people care about." Zander shrugs his shoulders. "It's not as if we aren't open books."

"People are so nosey." I say while holding up my first card. "Why did you become a singer?"

"How the fuck am I supposed to know?" I burst out laughing at Zander's tone. "I have always felt this deep connection to music so I knew that I would someday end up in the industry. I used to work security for a music studio since rappers used to beef over the stupidest things and I later went on to produce music. Now I'm a fucking musician so wait on my biography that's coming in ten years."

"When I first started releasing music, it was due to a movie that I had been working on but Zander is actually the reason why I started releasing actual music." Zander gives me a look. "We were newly dating when he took me on tour with him and I had the most amazing time. He brought me on stage one time and that's when I decided to get in the studio with him."

"And now you're the hottest singer alive." Zander states and I smile. "What would you do if you were not a musician?"

"I would have been a dentist."

"I can't even react because she already told me that shit." Zander snorts as I laugh. "I would have probably started a couple of businesses or continued working in security. "

"That's hot." I wink at him as I pick up my next card. "How do you feel about aging? I'll answer first, I am shit scared because time has seemingly flown by so fast without us even realising."

Zander nods his head in understanding, "I am thirty seven which is wild but I'm also excited to see what the next ten years of my life holds. Would you ever reprise your role as Barbie?"

"Fuck off." I flip Zander off and he bursts out laughing. "You're an asshole for even asking that. I loved shooting the first movie but what came after was extremely stressful and I would never want to go through that again."

We answer a couple more questions before doing a quickfire round that ends in us playfighting. The producers were pretty shocked at first when I speared him out of his seat but then we started laughing because we're always like this. Zander suplexed me into the pool when I was pregnant with our daughter and we laughed it off because we know our boundaries.

He would never intentionally hurt me and vice versa.

"Tell me what's on that pretty mind of yours." Zander frowns as I pull a face. "Carmen."

I wrap my arms around myself, "I found my first grey hair this morning."

"Babe." Zander pulls me into his arms as I begin to cry. Normally he would laugh at something like but he knows how I feel about getting old and it all started when my sister passed. People were sad when Bobbie died but then they moved on because life continues and that scared the shit out of me to see them normal again.

The idea of being forgotten kills me inside.

My children being without their mother shakes me to the core which is why I made a lot of lifestyle changes to ensure that I live a long life. Quitting smoking was my biggest move then I cut down on the drinking since I used to be quite excessive with it.

"I think that it's pretty cool." He cups my face while looking into my eyes. "I think it's a pretty rockstar move to be rocking your first grey hair and if you pull it out then I'm going to frame it. That grey hair will symbolise the beginning of you, the version of Carmen Acker where she's at her happiest and is living a fulfilling life. If your old whole head turned grey, I would love you just as much as I do with your blonde hair."

"Marry me." I tell him with a smile and he presses his lips against mine.

I press the button that stops the lift so we can continue this uninterrupted moment. 

"You're so hot." He grabs my face in his hands as I smile widely. "You're everything to me."

"Marry me." I look into his eyes and he chuckles. "I want to be yours."

"You are mine." He shoves his tongue down my throat while backing me up into the wall and I cup him through his jeans. "Where's my ring?"

I laugh while reaching into my pocket to grab a ring that I bought a while ago.

"Zander Rossi." I push him back slightly as I get down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes." He chuckles as I slide the ring down his finger before sucking on the same finger as I get to work on unbuckling his belt. "There's a camera here."

I look up at him, "When has that ever stopped us before?"

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