Neelam Kothari addressed her divorce from ex-husband Rishi Sethia for the first time in a new episode of Fabulous Lives Vs Bollywood Wives. In the episode, she was seen speaking with producer Ekta Kapoor, where she said how she felt when she heard that her daughter found out details about her first marriage and divorce on the internet. (Also read: Maheep Kapoor shares how Shanaya Kapoor was affected by Sridevi, Mona’s deaths: ‘She was scared when I woke up in ICU’)
What Neelam said
In the episode, Neelam said: “I came from work, and Ahana was with her friends. Normally, they are always jumping around, screaming, and shouting. But, this time, there was pin-drop silence. Ahana came to me and said, ‘Mumma, you never told me you were divorced’. I just died. I was stumped. I had no words. I told Ahana, ‘First of all, how do you know?’ She said, ‘You’re a celebrity, so my friends and I were googling you. The first thing came up was that you were divorced. You were married.”
Neelam on her divorce
Talking about her first marriage, Neelam broke down in tears as she went on to disclose how she was not okay with changing so many things about her identity. She added, “I was told to wear Indian clothes, give up non-veg, and alcohol. I was fine with everything. I was also asked to change my name, and I did that, too. A lot of people do that. But, changing my identity? That is something I was not okay with. I reached a point where I questioned myself, ‘How am I allowing this?’ There were several times when I used to be in a supermarket or out on lunch, and someone would come up to me and ask, ‘Are you Neelam the actress?’ And I had to say, ‘No, I am not Neelam.’”
Neelam, who rose to prominence in the 1980s and 90s, made a comeback of sorts in Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives. In October 2000, Neelam married London-based Rishi Sethia, son of industrialist Nirmal Sethia, only to separate legally shortly after. Neelam found love again in Samir Soni, and they married in 2011. In 2013, they adopted a daughter namedAhana.
