Imran Khan says divorce from Avantika Malik helped him heal: “It was healthier than staying in an unhealthy marriage”

Imran Khan says divorce from Avantika Malik helped him heal

• Imran Khan says divorce from Avantika Malik aided his mental and emotional healing
• He admits ending the marriage was tough but crucial for his personal growth
• Imran Khan returns to acting with a cameo in Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos.

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Bollywood actor Imran Khan has spoken candidly about his divorce from actress Avantika Malik, revealing that the split — though painful — ultimately helped him heal mentally and emotionally.

In an interview with the Times of India, Imran addressed his marriage and divorce from childhood sweetheart Avantika Malik. “I realised that my dynamic with my partner was unhealthy. It was a relationship that started at a very young age, and when you were 18-19 years old, you don't have nearly enough life experience to have an understanding of what healthy interpersonal dynamics are and what unhealthy dynamics are.”

The actor and Avantika, who were college sweethearts, married in 2011 and welcomed their daughter in 2014 before eventually separating in 2019. In his reflections, Imran admitted that the relationship dynamic had become “unhealthy” over time — a situation that began to take a toll on his overall health and happiness.

According to him, recognising that pattern and choosing to end the marriage was one of the hardest decisions of his life, but a pivotal one for his personal growth.

In addition to acknowledging the emotional challenges, Imran shared that the period after the divorce allowed him to focus on healing, self-care and being present for his daughter. The actor added, "I understood that it's not happening that way, it is not working that way, and in order for me to be the healthiest, best version of myself, I have to remove myself from this relationship. I don't blame anyone for this. I've not been in the media. I've been out of public sight and in the absence of me actually being there and speaking, rumours, gossip, all of this stuff kind of speculation just goes about, so things get muddled and conflated. Within that, I think a lot of people took my divorce to be the thing that was impactful for me and that I was impacted by the separation that triggered a mental health crisis. The truth is far from it. I was, in fact, in the worst years of it during the last couple of years of my marriage. It is my making the choice to end my marriage that was the turning point in my personal mental health journey that allowed me to actually heal and get better. It is because we were not in sync. We were not able to support each other in being the best version of self.”

Also read: Imran Khan on the changing stardom of Bollywood’s three Khans: You cannot be playing the lead after a certain age”

On the professional front, Imran Khan is gradually returning to the screen after more than a decade away from full-time acting. Earlier this year, he made a brief cameo in the comedy Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos, directed by his friend Vir Das and produced under Aamir Khan’s banner, marking his first appearance in a film in years.