Malaika Arora was ‘aghast’ when people assumed she got a ‘fat alimony’
Malaika Arora met and fell in love with Arbaaz Khan when she was in her early 20s. Soon after, the two got married, but after 19 years of marriage, the couple parted ways. In a recent interview, Malaika opened up about the idea of ‘settling down’ and how she outgrew that notion later in life.
In an interview with a popular entertainment agency, Malaika shared the reason behind getting married at 25, even though she didn’t face any pressure from her family. “Not that I have grown up in a background where I was told, ‘Oh, you have to get married at this age’. I was told to live my life, go out, enjoy myself, meet more people and have more relationships. I was told all of that. Yet, I don’t know what got into my head. I said, ‘By 22-23, I want to get married’. No one forced me, but it was what I needed to do right now because it was the best option I had at that moment,” Malaika said.
Malaika admitted that years after being married, she realised that this wasn’t what she wanted but was ‘questioned and ridiculed’ for her decision to separate from Arbaaz. “When I decided to get divorced, I don’t think there were too many women in the industry getting divorced and moving on. I felt that for my personal growth and my choice, I had to feel okay if I had to make my kid happy and make my kid flourish in his space. So, that’s what I did,” she said.
Malaika said that everyone looked down upon divorce, but for her, she ‘had to feel settled and happy to make anyone around me happy. It starts with me’.
The 50-year-old actor is also a favourite of the paparazzi and she spoke about an incident where a publication spoke about the cost of her outfit and got very nasty in their comments. “Somebody decided to carry a ridiculous article about something that I was wearing as to how expensive it is and they said, ‘Clearly she can afford it because she got a fat alimony’ and I was aghast. Whatever you have done in life, at whatever level, it makes no difference,” she said.
