In a candid interview with journalist Faye D’Souza, filmmaker Kiran Rao opened up about her post-divorce life with Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan. The couple, who confirmed their separation in July 2021 after 15 years of marriage, have maintained a positive outlook on their decision to part ways.
Rao described the divorce as a challenging but ultimately fulfilling decision. “It’s been a very happy divorce,” she said. “I feel relationships need to be redefined from time to time because we change as human beings as we grow. We need different things and this [divorce] is what I felt would make me happy and has made me very happy, honestly.”
Reflecting on her life before and after her marriage to Khan, Rao mentioned that she had enjoyed her independence during her single years. “Before Aamir, I was single for a very long time. I really enjoyed my independence. I was lonely, but now I have Azad [her son], so I tend not to be lonely. I think loneliness is the only thing that most people are a bit worried about when they get divorced or lose a partner. I haven’t felt lonely at all. In fact, I am supported by both families, his family and mine. So, actually, it has been only good stuff. It’s been a very happy divorce.”
However, Rao admitted that ending their long-term marriage wasn’t easy for either of them. She revealed that Khan “took a while to get there emotionally and mentally.” Despite the initial difficulties, Rao felt confident about her decision, expressing a desire for “independent, individual time to myself and my life.”
Rao concluded by emphasizing the strength and enduring nature of her relationship with Khan, despite the formal separation. “There’s a lot of love, lot of respect, there’s a lot of shared history, shared laughs, shared ideology, there’s lots of things that we look for in each other. So, I didn’t want to lose that. When I was secure enough to say, ‘Yeah, we don’t need the paper to say that we are married but we know what we mean to each other’… This is a partnership which will stand the test of time despite the divorce.”
