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Anorak News | Beyond Her Ken

Beyond Her Ken

by | 13th, February 2004

‘THERE are some couples who are just meant to be together – Jack and Vera, Simon Groom and Goldie, George and Mildred, George and Tony, George and Asda and, of course, Barbie and Ken.

The bed was an emptier place without Ken

But appearances can be deceptive and this morning the Mail announces the sad news that Barbie and Ken are to go their separate ways after 43 years together.

The paper suggests that the split may have been instituted by “the world’s most popular blonde” because of commitment issues – she had been waiting since 1961 for Ken top pop the question.

However, there has been speculation that there may be a new man in Barbie’s life – an Australian boogie-boarder by the name of Blaine.

The couple’s business manager Russell Arons would only say: “Like other celebrity couples, their Hollywood romance has come to an end.”

But we at Anorak hear that the couple have been drifting apart for years and the relationship has been a sham for the past decade.

Some sources say that the trigger for most of the couple’s rows has been Barbie’s drinking and addiction to prescription drugs, although others blame Ken’s faltering career.

However, it could be purely a question of numbers. American psychologist Professor John Gottman says he can predict the outcome of relationships with 94% accuracy.

He calculates that couples who argue more than 20% of the time have not got a hope of making things work.

“A lot of couples don’t know how to connect or how to build a sense of humour,” he tells the Express, “and this means a lot of fighting that couples engage in is a failure to make emotional connections.”

That is an explanation that will no doubt satisfy all of you who are partial to psychobabble, but not we suspect those of you looking for more concrete answers.

Instead, we take you back to 1973. The place is London and Ken, on a promotional tour of Europe without Barbie, is photographed out on the town in the company of rising young British star Sindy.

Gossip at the time suggested that the two were more than just friends, but both parties strenuously denied it. News of Barbie and Ken’s split can only fuel the rumours.

A spokesman for Sindy would only say yesterday: “It’s a long time ago and a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then. We have no wish to reopen old wounds.”

But Anorak can reveal that a source close to Ken claims that the reason he would never fully commit to Barbie was because he never got over Sindy.

“Barbie and Ken are known to millions,” the source added, “but what the public doesn’t know is that Ken’s heart has belonged to Sindy for the past 30 years.”’



Posted: 13th, February 2004 | In: Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink