Neelam Kothari breaks into tears while speaking about her divorce: 'I just died'

In a recent episode of Fabulous Lives Vs Bollywood Wives, Neelam Kothari spoke about her first marriage and also recalled the day her daughter asked her about her divorce. This was the first time the veteran actress addressed her divorce from Rishi Sethi.

While speaking to Ekta Kapoor, Neelam revealed that her daughter learnt about her divorce on the internet. 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’."

She added, "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."

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Talking about her first marriage, Neelam broke into tears as she disclosed 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?"

The actress stated, "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.'”

In 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 named Ahana.