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"People Expect Me To Be Thin And Perfect...I'm Not"

Tiffani-Amber Thiessen tells what she's learned the hard way about life, love and living with a weight problem...

Tiffani-Amber Thiessen learned an important lesson from her three-year romance with former Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Brian Austin Green—keep it to yourself!

The 25-year-old actress, who recently left the FOX series, was just 21 when she cooed to an interviewer that Brian was "The One." "I’ll marry Brian anytime he asks me," gushed Tiffani-Amber. "Every day I love him a little more." Fast forward to the fall of 1995, when Tiffani-Amber moved out of Brian’s home amidst rumors that he was cheating on her. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the former Miss Junior America (1987) found more words coming back to haunt her. When she first joined 90210 in 1994, she said she’d love to see her character, Valerie, become romantically involved with Brian’s character, David. Her wish eventually came true—just as the lovebirds were breaking up. The actress later admitted it wasn’t easy doing those scenes.

These days, she’s much more close-mouthed about her beaus. She’s rumored to have mended her broken heart with the help of co-star Jason Priestly (who was then fresh off his live-in romance with former ER star Christine Elise), Pauly Shore, George Clooney, and a 90210 camera assistant. Her latest involvement, however—and the only one she admits to—is Kevin Washington, the handsome son of a real estate tycoon whom she met on a ski trip in 1997.

"I Ask Men Out...I'm Not Going to Wait"

Tiffani-Amber says dating isn’t easy for the modern woman. "I think guys are intimidated by any woman who appears to be strong. Now women are so independent, which I am. But I try to solve that by asking men out. I’m not going to wait."

So what does she look for in a man?
"Personality is one thing; looks don’t matter much. I like a guy with a sense of humor." Five years from now, the actress sees herself married, possibly with one child.

In 1989 she joined the teen sitcom Saved by the Bell. By the time Beverly Hills, 90210 came knocking in 1994, Tiffani-Amber was happy to trade her sickly sweet Bell character Kelly for slutty troublemaker Valerie. Since 90210 had her character bed-hopping from the start, the former good girl had to learn how to do sex scenes. She learned one trick-of-the-trade from Luke Perry. To get that flushed look of passion before a bed scene, "I gulp down a cup of really, really hot water before stripping down to my boxer shorts!" And since Tiffani-Amber admits to a lifelong fight against flab, stripping down for the 5’4", 120 lb. actress causes anxiety.

"I’ve had to struggle with my weight since I was 17. There’s a lot of added pressure because I work with so many beautiful, thin people, and I’ve been asked to lose weight before by producers. It really hurts but that’s part of what this business is about. People expect me to be thin and perfect and I’m not.Tiffani-Amber may have left television’s hippest zip code, but her new working address will be at ABC, where she signed a deal to develop a sitcom. In the meantime, look for her in two upcoming films, Quentin Tarantino’s Texas Blood Money and Gus Van Sant’s Speedway Junkie.