Actor Imran Khan got candid about his life and career in a recent interview, where he also busted some myths about perceptions around his divorce. Imran admitted that while his and his ex-wife’s dynamics were unhealthy, people wrongly assume the divorce was a trigger for his mental health issues.
Imran Khan on his marriage and divorce
In an interview with the Times of India, Imran addressed his marriage and divorce from childhood sweetheart Avantika Malik. “I realised that my dynamic with my partner was unhealthy. It was a relationship that started at a very young age, and when you were 18-19 years old, you don’t have nearly enough life experience to have an understanding of what healthy interpersonal dynamics are and what unhealthy dynamics are.”
Imran and Avantika began dating when they were teenagers. The couple was engaged on January 16 2010, in Karjat. They were married a year later in a private civil ceremony at Aamir Khan’s home in Pali Hill. They welcomed their daughter Imara in 2013. In 2019, it was reported that the couple was living separately. Their divorce was reportedly finalised the same year.
Imran added that contrary to popular perception, his divorce had nothing to do with his mental health battle. The actor added, “I understood that it’s not happening that way, it is not working that way, and in order for me to be the healthiest, best version of myself, I have to remove myself from this relationship. I don’t blame anyone for this. I’ve not been in the media. I’ve been out of public sight and in the absence of me actually being there and speaking, rumours, gossip, all of this stuf,f kind of speculation just goes about, so things get muddled and conflated. Within that, I think a lot of people took my divorce to be the thing that was impactful for me and that I was impacted by the separation that triggered a mental health crisis. The truth is far from it. I was, in fact, in the worst years of it during the last couple of years of my marriage. It is my making the choice to end my marriage that was the turning point in my personal mental health journey that allowed me to actually heal and get better. It is because we were not in sync. We were not able to support each other in being the best version of self.”
Imran Khan’s acting comeback
On the work front, Imran is now making a comeback to films after over a decade. Earlier this year, he appeared in a cameo in friend Vir Das’ directorial Happy Patel. He is now set to return as a lead actor in Adhure Hum Adhure Tum opposite Bhumi Pednekar. The film is slated to release on Netflix sometime this year.
