Actor Harsh Chhaya has once again reflected on his divorce with the actress Shefali Shahdescribing it as a challenging but inevitable phase of his life. Harsh discussed society’s perception of divorce, dealing with emotional turmoil and how he navigated his own separation.For those who don’t know, Harsh and Shefali, who worked together on Zee TV’s ‘Hasratein’, got married in 1994 before their marriage ended in 2000. Shefali later married filmmaker Vipul Shah, with whom she shared a marriage for two decades. During the interview, Harsh candidly spoke about how divorce is seen as a social taboo and how many people remain trapped in unhappy relationships. Reflecting on her experience, she said: “It’s a very personal thing about the case, our case was very clear, I could see the relationship coming to an end. When they told me: “I can’t be with you anymore”; 8-9 months before that, I knew this was coming. I was prepared. Even though I know what is happening, I don’t let it affect me mentally at that moment, so I focus on work, because in my mind, I left Delhi and came to Mumbai for that. Personally, how one deals with it depends on them. Fortunately, I come from a space where I’m not easily shaken.”The actress also opened up about her emotional response after the split, saying that brushing off the pain or pretending not to be affected is not the answer. “When a situation like this comes you have to try to stay sane; if you are uncomfortable, live with it, don’t try to show yourself as strong. I lived for 5-6 months, regretted, shouted, etc. One day, I saw that you are under stress, everyone around you is ready to listen to your story, and share their opinions. Once I talked to someone, we discussed each other’s issues, and then we went on a date; It happened a few times and I made a formula. I went on several dates in 2-3 months. It takes time, you don’t have to show your courage, but show what you feel.”Sharing his broader perspective on relationships, Harsh argued that divorce should not automatically be viewed as failure. He added: “Two people can’t be together 24/7, I can’t live with my clone 365 days. For me, divorce is not a big deal, because if it has to happen, it should have happened sooner, so the relationship has not dragged. When we decided, we received a deferred application stating that we were living apart for six months. We acted quickly on that.”This is not the first time that Harsh has addressed the issue publicly. In a 2024 interview with Siddharth Kannan, she had previously called the split emotionally difficult but firm, saying, “The split was quite tough. It’s an old story now. It’s been 20-25 years. For me, it’s a closed chapter.”In an earlier interview with Hindustan Times, the actor also spoke about accepting the end of his marriage with realism. “It hurt. The breakup didn’t take me by surprise. I saw it coming for almost eight months, and I still look back on it very pragmatically. Two people met, fell in love, got married and broke up. Nothing could be done. I thought it was better to break up than not know where the marriage is going.” After feeling bad and mustering enough self-sympathy, I finally got out in six months.’
