At first glance, Marilyn might seem an unlikely example to follow where marriage is concerned. Indeed, she was already heading for her first divorce when this magazine promo was shot by Richard C. Miller in 1946.
However, Darla Carmichael was inspired by Marilyn’s relationship pattern – and so far, it seems to be working out rather well…
“I had a long-term marriage plan. The perfect, glamour woman I was to become needed not one, not two, but three marriages. I had studied up long and hard on starlets and famed women and determined that following in the steps of Marilyn Monroe was the way to go for me. The first marriage had to be a hormonally-driven, youthful mistake that would start and end quickly. For me, this turned out to not be a marriage, but a long, co-habitating engagement, which definitely fit the bill.
The second was to be a sign of maturity. It was supposed to be a marriage that would seem like the right thing to do at the time because of a need to just settle down already. It would be a backlash to hard partying, a string of anti-commitment relationships and something that would transition into full adulthood. That, it did, indeed.
The third marriage, though, was always meant “for keeps.” It would be when after all the world went crazy around me and I was ready to just be me. I would find someone who was perfect. It would be someone who had both bad and good in common, but with enough differences to forever keep things interesting. There would never be one thought of it being a mistake or impulsive or temporary. It would be the one person who I would be happy and fulfilled living the rest of my life with. And, well, I think my plan (though vaguely idiotic and very naïve looking back on it) worked out pretty well. I managed to follow it to a tee without really trying.”