Actor Niharika Konidela has finally opened up about her divorce for the first time on a podcast with her friend, Nikhil Vijayendra Simha. She spoke about how being married and divorced changed her for better or worse.
She said, “I am at a stage in life where I want to focus on myself, I also want to be there for my parents” she said. She added that she has always been dependent on her parents and didn’t know how to function otherwise. “You can’t be dependent on the wrong person,” she said, adding, “I’ve been divorced for almost two years now, only I know how much it hurt me.”
She further added that while she was used to people trolling her online, it hurt her to see them talking about her family in a bad light. Niharika said, “I am thankful I have a father like Nagababu who said he doesn’t care what anyone thinks and that I’m the best thing to happen to him, I deserve to be happy. My divorce has shown me the value of family.”
The actress did however state that the split meant she ‘cried a lot,’ but it was also a ‘lesson not to trust people.’ She said, “Everyone gets married hoping it’s for a lifetime, but things weren’t what I expected. I am only 30, I haven’t closed off my heart to love. But first, I want to be independent and work on myself before committing to a relationship. For now, I’m single.”
Niharika and Chaitanya JV tied the knot in a fairytale wedding in Udaipur on December 9, 2020. However, rumours of their split started doing rounds after a year of marriage, and the couple confirmed on their Instagram handles in July 2023 that they have split ways.
While Chaitanya wasn’t invited on the podcast, he left a comment on Nikhil’s Instagram pot about the podcast, addressing the interviewer. He wrote, “You should stop trying to use the reach and platform to indirectly try and attach tags of victim and cause with respect to the marriage. This is the second time this is happening. The pain of things not working out and the process and ordeal of healing is the same for both the ends. (sic)”
He added, “The concept of not talking about the divorce, and especially just one side of it, is there to not interfere or rupture that healing again for either of the people involved. Talking about the pain in aftermath and healing is fine, that will help people. In the future instead of an indirect implication of history and fit in words like trust, what will be advised is to have all the parties involved and run through the timeline if you are that keen on knowing and making public aware. (sic)”