Neelam Kothari recently opened up about her first marriage and divorce. She explained that after her marriage, she was asked to change her name, give up non-vegetarian food and wear Indian clothes.
Neelam said, “I was asked to wear Indian, non-vegetarian clothes and also to give up alcohol. I agreed with everything. I was also asked to change my name and I did so. A lot of people do that. But should I change my identity? This is something I didn’t agree with. I had reached a stage where I was starting to wonder how can I give permission for this.
Neelam had her first marriage in 2000
Neelam married British businessman Rishi Sethia in 2000. However, they divorced soon after. Then, in 2011, she married Sameer Soni. In 2013, they adopted a daughter, Ahana.
When the daughter found out that Neelam was divorced
Neelam added, “One day I came back from work and Ahana was with her friends. Usually, Ahana was always jumping, playing and screaming. But she remained very silent that day. Ahana came to me and said: Mom, you never told me you were divorced.
I almost died after hearing this. I became completely silent. I had no words.
I asked Ahana how did you learn all this? I told him: you are a celebrity. That’s why my friends and I were looking for you on Google. The first thing that came up was that you’re divorced. You had another marriage.
Neelam said she didn’t want her daughter to know about her first marriage in this way.