If you want me to be “Barbie”, you've gotta be “Ken”!

Acting Beauty Editor, Elaine Shobanjo shares another tale with you...
Oh how the world has changed! Gone are the days when women were naïve, innocent and quietly let men rule!

 

  

Granted it may still be a man's world but boy, have women polished their own wings too!

It all started when, let's call him, Tayo, spotted this sexy, stunning being, with legs even Heidi Klum will kill for. Let's call her, Stephanie.

He turned to his best friend, Chinedu, and in a perplexed voice asked 'Damn!!! What manner of species is this?!' Needless to say, her beauty had confused him!

Not one to believe anyone was out of his league, Tayo chased Staphanie til she eventually gave in. He was very charming and err...ok looking. Not bad at all, but not as mind blowing as Stephanie was.

Stephanie had a lot of admirers but paid them no attention. She was committed to her relationship with Tayo. Things couldn't have been better.

Everyone said they were a perfect match, his family loved her and vice versa. Ofcourse the pressure of marriage started flocking in from all directions.

One day, on their 3rd year anniversary to be precise, Stephanie had prepared an amazing 3 course meal for her man. Everyone told her they felt Tayo would propose today.

Tayo, leaving the office, called to ask if he needed to bring anything. "No", she said, "Just your wonderful self. Love you". To which he replied "Love you too".

She hung up and ran to the kitchen to get a match to light her candle. Tayo worked only a few minutes away so she knew he'd be with her soon. Realising her match box was empty, she called him back and asked him to get some.

On getting to the store, Tayo experienced something that was all too familiar to him. He spotted this gorgeous, curvy, lady in one of the aisles in the shop. In her sexy high heels and seductive short dress, she stood on her toes, reaching for a product on the top shelf.

Being Mr charming, Tayo walked up to her, offered to help her bring the item down from the shelf, engaged in more conversation with her, swapped numbers and BB pins, and left.

All this while, Stephanie was waiting.

He got to Stephanie's, had dinner, but couldn't get this other woman out of his mind.

He sent her a message that night, invited her to lunch...and the affair started.

Stephanie noticed the changes in him. She confronted him and he denied that anything was wrong.
She couldn't place her hand on what was off but things felt different.

To get some air, Stephanie went to spend the weekend at her friend, Nike's house. They planned a girly evening - more girlfriends, cocktails, little bites, and lots of gossiping! One of the girls came with a friend of hers (Sade) who had never met the rest of the group til that day.

A few cocktails downed and Sade starts to gush about her new man. He was charming, funny, and all what not. They had met in a grocery store some months back and most of all, she was just glad that he wasn't married or in a relationship! His name was Tayo.
He worked exactly where Stephanie's Tayo worked, lived exactly where Stephanie's Tayo lived....you get the picture!

Stephanie was livid but remained calm. She didn't show any sign of shock, anger, or pain. Instead she gushed with Sade and they all drank to Sade's new found man.

She again asked Tayo if he was seeing anyone else and he denied it.

To her surprise, Chinedu, Tayo's closest friend, was the one who started consoling her. He could see the hurt in her eyes. He knew his friend was not doing right by her but nothing he could say would stop Tayo.

So one day, while waiting for Tayo to come back home, he consoled Stephanie and in the process, he leaned in and kissed her. She hesitated at 1st, but didn't stop it either.

Chinedu was everything she wished Tayo would be. She was no longer going to sit pretty and cry over this man. Gone were those days. Tayo had always called her 'Barbie' because she was perfection in his eyes, but enough was enough.
"If you want me to be Barbie", she thought, "you've gotta be Ken".
She knew her worth but wasn't prepared to let go of Tayo completely. He came with some benefits you see - he could provide for her financially, and make her life very comfortable. He was well connected and knew the right people. She wasn't going to forfeit all that.
So the "played" became the "player".