Manuel Mendoza

11:16 AM CST on Friday, November 11, 2005

INSIDE 'ROMBER': More celebri-quizzing of Rob Mariano and the former Amber Brkich, in town Thursday to promote the DVD-board game Scene It? Squabble.

HOW 'ROMBER' FIRST GOT TOGETHER: Rob got game. He snuck Amber away from the cameras during Survivor: All-Stars for a private walk on the beach. Nothing was said. "He just reached over and kissed me," Amber recalls.

WE'RE NOT PROUD OF OUR OTHER QUESTIONS, EITHER: Who controls the money? (They have joint and separate accounts.) How does she like having a last name that's easier to pronounce than her maiden "bur-kitch?" (People mess up Mariano, too.) Will the divorce be televised? (A chuckling Rob insists, "There's not going to be a divorce.") They come across as levelheaded people. Instead of relocating to Hollywood, they chose Pensacola, Fla., to settle down. They've invested in real estate and retirement accounts, and Amber remains a bargain shopper. "We don't feel like celebrities," she says. Rob adds, "As soon as you have money, you start to become responsible and think about the future."

QUITTING WHILE THEY'RE AHEAD? After shooting the pilot, Romber says they turned down a Newlyweds -like series because E! wanted to impose changes. "Everything we've done up to this point has been real," Rob says, "and I'm not willing to script anything or make things up." Amber adds, "It's one of those smart decisions. There might be a big opportunity to have your own television show. But when it comes down to it, you have to think of the consequences." Instead, they're pursuing a joint talk show, and Amber may start a fashion line. But, Rob says of fame, "When it ends, it ends. When it stops being fun or stops being profitable, we won't do it anymore."

Manuel Mendoza