Grandma reveals she is so obsessed with Barbie that everything in her house is pink

A grandmother says she’s finally living her life’s dream of “being a Barbie” by styling her entire house in hot pink and dressing just like her idol – but she has no interest in spending her life with a “Ken.”

Dena Daniels of Fort Smith, Arkansas, says Barbie was her favorite childhood doll and she played with it until she was teased by other kids for being too old.

Now, at age 54, Dena says she’s finally decided to “live her truth” by turning her shabby chic home “pink” after getting tired of hiding how she really wanted to live.

Dena eats, sleeps and breathes pink, wakes up every morning in pink bathrobes and enjoys her morning coffee and toast from a pink coffee pot and toaster – and says she can’t wait for the release of the new film starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Reynolds.

She even has a human-sized Barbie display case in which she can pose as a full-sized living doll and is referred to as “Barbie” by her neighbors.

The mother-of-two felt she had been hiding her “authentic self” for years to please others – especially men – so she decided to paint her dollhouse pink at home and dye all her clothes in shades of pink to magenta .

While not totally against love, she feels that without men in her life she can “express herself more” and urges other women to “find another husband” if they are not their authentic selves.

Although she was dating when she originally made her house fuchsia, she admits she didn’t “make it available” for him to move in and now that she’s single, she says the house wasn’t designed for future “Ken” to be comfortable in.

The semi-retired grandma and her “Barbie-core” home has more than 65,700 followers online and more than 846,900 likes on her videos that share her daily life.

Dena said, “I was concerned with people’s approval and pleasing those around me, especially men.

‘One day I woke up and thought: I’m not getting any younger, I want to do what I want to do. I don’t care what anyone else thinks, I want to be myself’.

“I’ve always loved Barbie, ever since I was a little girl. I had them and played with them as long as I could until I was fooled.

“I thought ‘I want to turn my house into a real Barbie house’.

“I’m not much of a collector, I just wanted to be the Barbie and my house the Barbie house.” I do have a Barbie house and some Barbie accessories, but I don’t put much in there because I’m the Barbie.

“To be honest, I was kind of fooled at first. People would say ‘you are a grown woman, why are you playing with toys?’.

“What’s so funny is that now everyone loves Barbie. I am not crazy.’

Dena explains that when she wakes up in the morning, she puts on her robe and “of course everything is pink.”

She then has breakfast with her pink coffee pot and toaster and takes food from her pink fridge, which she cooks in pink cookware and eats off pink plates.

When she goes out, she drives a VW Beetle waiting for her ride – complete with pink wheels and pink hearts.

Dena said, “Once I started, I just couldn’t stop. It’s been a journey of ‘how much pink can I add before it gets tacky’.”

Since decorating her home both inside and out, Dena has decided that she is no longer looking for love and doesn’t want to change her style for a man.

Dena said, “I don’t have a husband by choice. I think it means I can express myself more. When I moved into the house I was in a relationship with someone, but I purposely decided not to make it available for him to move in with me.

“I’ve lived a lifetime to please others and I decided it was time to please myself.

“Not that a man couldn’t be comfortable here, but I don’t want a man. I don’t want a man to feel comfortable here.

She says her Barbie house is “part of my healing journey.” I think healing my inner child is part of that.

“I’ve dated a few times since I was single. I’ve decided it’s not for me.

“The men I’ve found in my age range are just not what I’m looking for. I am open to romance, but I let it come to me.

‘[Some women] saying ‘if I didn’t have a husband I would’.

“It lets me know how many are not their true selves. I think ‘find another house’ or ‘get another husband’. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for compromise, but this house isn’t a house to house a man, and that’s on purpose.”

Recognized as ‘Barbie’ in the local supermarkets and around town, the granny poses in the iconic Barbie box during Halloween and offers pink treats to children, hoping to create a little ‘magic’ for neighborhood kids.

Dena said, “They all call me Barbie in the neighborhood. I am recognized ‘oh you’re the pink lady!’. They all call me the pink lady wherever I go. On Halloween I open it up so the kids can get out of the neighborhood.

“The little girls go crazy, I think it’s very magical for them, so I let them come in and have pink candy and snacks for everyone.”

‘I do get negative comments, people have said ‘you’re too old to play with dolls’ and ‘are you crazy?’.

It’s the way I express myself. It is my soul that comes out to express itself on the walls.

‘I am not harming anyone, I am expressing my art and my soul.

‘I am an individualist, I despise being like everyone else. It always annoyed me to be like everyone else. So I just decided to be myself aloud.’

The Barbie lover can’t wait to see the new film starring Margot Robbie and hopes to encourage other women to follow their hearts in life and not hold back for any man.

Dena said, “I’m definitely going to see the new movie, wearing my pink clothes and carrying my Barbie purse.”

“I would like to tell other women to just follow your heart. Go slowly, do it little by little. Start wearing pink clothes or add more to one room at a time.”

And how does she deal with opponents? “Realize that if people say negative things, it’s on them. That’s something that’s not healed in them.

‘It is scary. It’s not easy to paint a house pink and live in a pink house, but it’s worth it.”