When Riteish Deshmukh’s April fool’s joke left Genelia D’Souza heartbroken, latter says "I made myself miserable till 9 in the morning..."

Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza throwback

• Riteish once pranked Genelia with a breakup message, deeply upsetting her.
• The incident taught Riteish the importance of sensitivity in relationships.
• Their bond grew stronger after clearing up the misunderstanding.

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Bollywood couple Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza are widely loved for their warmth, humour and the genuine friendship that underpins their marriage.

From playful teasing to openly supporting one another through every phase of life, the two have often shown what a healthy partnership looks like.

Yet, long before marriage and parenthood, one badly timed joke during their early dating days left a lasting impression on both of them.

Years later, Riteish Deshmukh looked back on that moment during an appearance on The Kapil Sharma Show. What he had intended as a harmless prank ended up deeply upsetting Genelia D’Souza and taught him an important lesson about sensitivity in relationships.

Riteish Deshmukh shared that, early in their relationship, he once decided to play a joke on his then-girlfriend by pretending to break up with her. Confident that she would immediately recognise it as a prank, he went ahead and sent the message.

Instead, Genelia D’Souza took it seriously and was genuinely heartbroken. Seeing her reaction left Riteish Deshmukh shocked and full of regret. He later admitted that he never attempted such jokes again, realising how deeply she cared and how hurtful words can be, even when meant lightly.

Genelia D’Souza later opened up about how the incident affected her emotionally. Speaking on Shreya Godhawat’s YouTube channel, she described the night in detail: “When we were dating each other, it was April Fool’s Day, and he sent me a message saying, ‘We’re done’, and he’s gone off to sleep. He used to sleep really late, and I used to sleep early. He sent me this at around 1 in the night, and has fallen asleep. I have read it at 2:30 in the morning, and I am depressed. ‘What went wrong? What is this cheek and audacity?’”

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She added, “I have made myself miserable till 9 in the morning. He has woken up, not remembering that he’s done that. So, he’s woken up and called me, ‘Hi, what’s up?’ And I’m like fully, ‘I don’t think we should talk, I don’t want to talk to you’. He said, ‘Why, what went wrong?’ And I said, ‘What went wrong! Are you actually behaving like nothing went wrong?’”

Thankfully, the confusion was cleared up, and the episode only strengthened their bond. Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza first met in 2003 on the sets of Tujhe Meri Kasam, gradually falling in love before marrying in 2012.