Esha Deol and Bharat Takhtani had a friends-to-lovers story. They first met during their teenage years and parted ways, only to rekindle after ten years. Here's more about their love story.
Bollywood veterans, Dharmendra and Hema Malini’s firstborn, Esha Deol, followed in the footsteps of her parents and stepped into the glitz and glamour world in 2002. Despite her father having many objections to the choice of her profession, Esha chose acting as her career. After several ups and downs in the industry, she finally got a taste of success with the action film, Dhoom in 2004. She even took a sabbatical from the film industry and was recently seen opposite Ajay Devgn in the 2022 crime thriller series, Rudra: The Edge Of Darkness.
Esha’s personal life, too, garners as much attention as her professional front. The 42-year-old actress married the man of her dreams, Bharat Takhtani, in 2012, and they were blessed with two daughters. Their elder daughter, Radhya, was born in 2017, and their second one, Miraya, was born in 2019. Recently, rumours were rife that the couple was having troubles in their marital life. Unfortunately, Esha and Bharat reportedly announced divorce on February 6, 2024, through a joint statement. Let us take you through the journey of Esha and Bharat from being high school sweethearts, to amicably parting ways from each other.
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Esha Deol and Bharat Takhtani’s love story is nothing short of a Bollywood film based on friends to lovers trope. The duo first met during an inter-school competition during their teens. While Esha used to study at Jamnabai Narsee School, Juhu, Bharat, on the other hand, was enrolled at Learner’s Academy in Bandra. The actress had once revealed during an interview that Bharat had found her cute even though she used to have braces on, and they even exchanged their numbers. Esha disclosed:
"I was in Jamnabai Narsee School, Bharat was studying at Learner's Academy in Bandra. That was one school which had good-looking boys in Bandra. We met at the inter-school competition called Cascade which was hosted by my school. I wrote my phone number on a piece of tissue and gave it to him. I had braces back then. I always say he truly loved me with braces on. He found me cute."
In one of Esha and Bharat’s old interviews, the actress recalled how one incident changed the course of their relationship. She revealed that Bharat wanted to hold her hand, but this had irked Esha. She said, “But it was an immature, stupid age. Once when he wanted to hold my hand, I snapped, "How dare you hold my hand?” After this incident, the duo stopped talking. However, Bharat kept in touch with Esha’s sister, Ahana Deol. Reminiscing this incident, Bharat said:
"After that, she stopped talking to me. Though I didn't keep in touch with her, I remained friends with Ahana. So somewhere the connection remained. I always nurtured a soft corner for Esha. After all, she was my first love."
A decade after this incident, Esha and Bharat rekindled their romance, and the actress’ sister played the role of a cupid this time. While Esha was on a trip to the US, her sister informed Bharat about her whereabouts, and it was at this chance meeting that the lovebirds' long-lost spark was reignited. The same meeting marked the beginning of their relationship. Esha then introduced her beau to her mother, Hema Malini, who hit it off with Bharat instantly. After getting a nod from the veteran Bollywood actress, Esha introduced Bharat to her father, Dharmendra. The latter reportedly had asked him a few quintessential questions, just like any father in the world would do for his beloved daughter, and gave them his approval.
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Soon after Esha and Bharat’s parents met, the duo decided to get engaged. In February 2012, Bharat went down on one knee to slip on an engagement ring on Esha’s fingers in front of their families. The actress once recalled this moment and revealed that the businessman had never formally proposed to her for marriage, but on their engagement day, he proposed to her. She said:
"When we were getting engaged, I told him, 'Baby, you'll have to go down on your knees and then slip the ring on my finger. Bharat asked, 'Really?' and went down in the presence of papa, Sunny bhaiya and Bobby bhaiya, right there. From the industry, only Jaya (Bachchan) aunty was present. She's like a mother to me."
Esha Deol and Bharat Takhtani took their relationship to the next level and got married on June 29, 2012. The wedding ceremony was held at the ISKCON temple in Mumbai. The wedding was a grand affair with several Bollywood celebrities in attendance. The four-day wedding celebrations included a sangeet ceremony, a mehendi function, a traditional Tamilian marriage, and a star-studded reception.
While Esha belongs to a family of actors, the Takhtanis are a traditional business family. Esha was reportedly the first daughter-in-law among Bharat’s seven cousins, somewhat similar to the actress’ mother, Hema Malini’s character in the movie, Satte Pe Satta.
Esha and Bharat renewed their vows in 2017 when the couple were about to hop onto their parenthood journey. They remarried at the ISKCON temple in Mumbai to celebrate Esha’s baby shower. They welcomed their little angel, Radhya, in October 2017. Almost two years later, in 2019, Esha and Bharat welcomed their second angel, Miraya.
Unfortunately, after 12 years of marital bliss, Esha and Bharat decided to part ways on February 6, 2024. There were rumours of their separation in the media after Bharat missed Hema Malini’s 75th birthday celebrations and the two completely stopped making any public appearances together. Esha and Bharat shared a joint statement via the Delhi Times to publicly announce their divorce. Their statement can be read as:
“We have mutually and amicably decided to part ways. Through this shift in our lives, the best interests and welfare of our two children is and will be of utmost importance to us. We’d appreciate our privacy is respected.”
This announcement comes after several media outlets reported Bharat Takhtani’s alleged infidelity. A viral Reddit post claimed that Bharat has cheated on Esha with a woman, who lives in Bangalore. The Redditor mentioned that they saw Bharat with this woman at a party in Bangalore.
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