A PLUS-SIZED woman who is obsessed with everything pink and girly says anyone can be a Barbie — and her husband loves her bigger body.
Alyssa Marie Anderson, 31, felt like an “outcast” before she found the self-confidence to embrace her curves and says "I know I'm fat."
A US size 16, Alyssa used to hide in black and dark clothes but has now found the confidence to dress in colorful and bold outfits.
She loves everything pink and fills her wardrobe with pastel tones — and has even decked her house in pink and green furniture.
The professional makeup artist from Long Beach, California has a collection of 19 vintage Barbie dolls and loves dying her hair pastel colors.
“For me, being a plus-sized girl, Barbie was that beacon of beauty," she said.
“Everyone wanted to be just like Barbie."
So she's become her "own version of Barbie," explaining: “Pink is the number one color for me. My number one love.
“I have always loved being super girly and feminine.
“I still have a brain, I’m successful — I just look good doing it.”
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Ditching dark clothing and embracing bright hues didn't happen until her husband Shay, 35, a HVAC technician, helped her find self-love.
She said: “I had put pressure on myself to look good for him.
“It never occurred to me that he loved what I looked like already.
“One day I said: ‘Why me?’
“He said I’m 100 percent the body type he’s always known he wanted. Some people like bigger bodies.”
Now Alyssa loves who she is and what she sees in the mirror and can embrace her passion for color and girly things.
Alyssa said: “As a plus-sized person, I was told not to wear colors or be bold.
“I always loved color. I existed in a world where I wore so many boring clothes.
“Now I wear what I want. I challenge myself to wear the things I wouldn’t have worn 10 years ago.
“I get so many compliments now that I have embraced who I am.”
She's into everything Barbie but also has an eclectic wardrobe and loves to wear gothic clothes.
“I love being girly and I love being a bada**," she said, proclaiming proudly: “I’m a plus-sized Barbie.”
Alyssa said she isn’t affected by strangers' comments about her weight — despite people telling her to "hit the gym" and saying she is "overweight" and "not healthy."
“I felt like an outcast for the way I looked," she said, but added that it helped her to be wittier.
“Strangers can’t affect my confidence. I know I’m fat. You’re not offending me by calling me what I see myself as,” she insisted.
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Alyssa wants others to find self-confidence in who they are and their body as she has.
“It’s never too late to love yourself," she said. "Everyone can be Barbie."
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