After an old video of businessman Raj Kundra's first wife Kavita surfaced on the Internet, rumour mills has been abuzz about actress Shilpa Shetty.
In the viral video, Kavitha was seen accusing actress Shilpa Shetty of wrecking her marriage and being the reason behind her and Raj's relationship falling apart. Now, after 12 years, Raj Kundra has finally broken his silence on the issue.
In an exclusive interview to Pinkvilla, Raj Kundra, while opening up about his divorce from wife first wife Kavita and addressing the video of his ex-wife blaming Shilpa Shetty for breaking their marriage, said, "It's saddening a few days after my wife's birthday 11-year-old news goes viral again bringing up a half-baked story and forever trying to malign us. There is obviously some agenda. I have maintained my silence for 12 years but enough is enough now."
Enough is enough
Reacting to the old video going viral after years, Raj said, "I was very angry. She (Shilpa Shetty) again said ignore don't worry, but I decided enough is enough...I am doing this because I think the truth finally needs to be told."
While alleging that his ex-wife Kavita was paid by media to "sell a so-called scandalous story", Raj Kundra said, "She got paid thousands of pounds to do this interview by News of the World. She sold her soul during our divorce; she had to present her bank statements and it was clearly mentioned she had been paid by the newspaper to sell a so-called scandalous story" and added, "She is blaming a celebrity for her broken marriage when she herself was the reason the marriage broke down."
The affair
Stating why his marriage with Kavita broke, Raj told Pinkvilla that she always brought out the worst in him. He alleged that she was having an affair with his sister's husband when they lived in London. "She grew very close to my ex-brother-in-law, spending more and more time with him, especially when I was out on business trips. Many of my family and even my driver would say we sense something fishy between these two and I would never believe it. I gave my ex-wife the benefit of doubt. I did everything I possibly could for both sides of the family because for me my side or her family is family, a principle I still follow today," he said.
Said 'goodbye' to 40-day-old baby
Raj Kundra added that he got to know about his wife's affair after "his sister and her husband moved back to India." "I recall how heartbroken I was and how I cried and cried thinking about what I had done to deserve this. I called and told my pregnant sister the phone number was Kavita's second secret phone and that I was going to drop her at her house and that was the end for me she could decide what she wanted to do," he said.
Raj said he told Kavita that he knew about her affair via a text after he flew back to the UK post dropping her at her parents' house in India after the birth of their baby girl. "That was the last time for me when I left her and my baby; somewhere inside Kavita she also knew something was a miss. It was painful saying goodbye to my 40-day-old baby."
"Later when I met Shilpa via some common friends and my ex heard online about us going out she increased her divorce demands. She even sold a story for tens of thousands of pounds to a UK tabloid claiming Shilpa ruined her marriage to the press. As part of the divorce agreement that ran into crores, Kavita requested I stay away from our baby and that when needed my daughter would know where to find me. It was not fair on the child I agree but whenever we met we fought like cats and dogs she brought out the worst in me and we both agreed our daughter didn't need to be exposed to this side of us both. I knew she was financially well provided for but I do miss my daughter and I am sure she doesn't even know half of the story, god knows what all my ex-wife has fed her brain with. I tried to reach out to my daughter a few times but no one was willing to connect me. I should have tried harder but I guess I just moved on with my life in a new country," said Raj Kundra.
Finding real soulmate
He said that he is no longer in touch with his ex-wife. Because his sister was also involved in the matter, he decided to not reveal the details of Kavita's affair to the media when she first gave the interview. He said that even Shilpa agreed with his decision. "It was very hard on Shilpa and I know how upset she was but she also understood the predicament I was in. She really supported me during this emotional time of my life. She has and always does bring out the best in me. I am grateful to God for such an amazing wife. Some good Karma I must have done that I went from marriage from Hell to finding my real soul mate," he said about Shilpa.
In the interview to the Daily Mail, Kavita had said, "I look at the pictures of them together and think, she's with my husband, she's living my life. While I was trying to put our marriage back together, he was talking constantly about Shilpa, as if it didn't matter what happened to us because he had found someone better, cleverer and more famous than me. Now he has begun pestering me for a divorce. I asked him if he planned to marry someone else but he avoided the question."
Raj Kundra and Kavita divorced in 2006. Raj married Shilpa Shetty, who recently celebrated her 46th birthday, in 2009. The two are blessed with a son Viaah Raj and daughter Samisha Shetty Kundra.
