Isha Rikhi Opens Up About Badshah Separation: A Candid Reflection on Love and Healing |

For nearly 15 years, Isha Rikhi has worked across Hindi and Punjabi cinema, largely keeping her personal life away from the spotlight. That changed this year when pictures from her wedding to rapper-singer Badshah, shared by her mother, surfaced online. But last week the news of their separation hit, which came as a surprise to many.In an exclusive conversation with us, Isha speaks about her marriage, dealing with a difficult phase, and why she still believes in love. Excerpts:‘I won’t be cleaning my dirty linen in public’Isha and Badshah got married in 2022 after dating for four years. When reports of their wedding first surfaced in 2023, Badshah denied them. However, it was only earlier this year that Isha’s mother shared pictures from the wedding, leading many to assume that the ceremony had taken place just five months earlier. The two announced their mutual separation on Instagram last week by posting a story.

Isha says, “Yes, we have separated. While there is a lot to say, I wouldn’t want to talk about it. It is all in the past. And I want to let this chapter of my life go gracefully. I don’t want to make a tamasha of my personal life in public. I won’t be cleaning my dirty linens in public, because that’s not who I am.”Ask about their current equation, and she says, “It’s too complicated. I am waiting for the day when I can talk about it fully, when I have the strength to deal with all the questions and answer them. But right now, it’s a battle I’m still fighting.” In the meantime, she refuses to comment on the timeline of their marriage.Isha says the past year has been difficult, but her faith has helped her navigate it. Having lost her father when she was eight, she says life has tested her at different stages. “I would say that I am grateful to God for showing me the right path. I mean, at the onset I did blame God for it and kept wondering why that was happening to me. But slowly I realised this was a real test…. I have a crazy faith,” she says.‘I was very emotionally dependent on people’The tough period has also forced her to look inwards and understand her own emotional dependence on the people she loves. “One thing I’ve realised is that when you sit alone, you understand and see things differently. I was very emotionally dependent on people. When I trust, I trust blindly. If I don’t trust, I don’t entertain people. I can’t play games. The one thing I have learned now is that you should not depend on anyone emotionally,” she shares.

‘He is so sweet, down to earth, genuine’: Isha Rikhi’s throwback comment on Badshah resurfaces

‘I was protecting someone because I loved that person’Without going into the details of her relationship with Badshah, Isha says one of the reasons she initially chose to remain silent and kept the wedding under the wraps was because she did not want her private life to become a public spectacle. “It was very difficult. I used to feel, ‘What did I do wrong?’ It’s just that I was protecting someone because I loved that person and, at the same time, I was protecting the relationship I had. But whatever is going on between two people, why should I make a drama or talk about it in public? I never thought about doing that because I’m not that person,” she explains, adding, “People say certain things, and I don’t have a thick skin. I’m very sensitive, especially when it comes to my character and when people say certain things about me. I cared a lot about what people thought. But now, with time, I am growing. So now, I am a little stronger. I would say I am recovering and healing myself.”She further shares, “I honestly don’t want to talk about it. Firstly, I didn’t post these pictures. My mother did. I was protecting him. I’ve fought with my mom a lot about this only for me to realise later that whatever happened, happened for a reason. It was out of my control. I was so scared. My mom was saying something else. He was saying something else. We communicated many times (after the posts). He was showing a different picture to me, which was not true. I was questioning myself that how can I be so stupid? This had to be the worst phase of my life.” Ask her directly if she felt cheated, she says, “Feel cheated? I would say that I was, yeah.”‘My personal life being out there made me very uncomfortable’For someone who has largely stayed away from the noise around celebrity culture, having her personal life become a subject of public discussion was uncomfortable. Isha admits, “I was very uncomfortable because when I don’t have filters, I sometimes share things with people, believing they will keep them private. But when I realised they were also talking about me behind my back, my trust was completely broken. I decided not to talk to anyone and cut myself off.”However, she says the experience has not changed her fundamentally. “Trusting people is in my nature. I will trust. Whatever has happened to me, I will still trust because that is who I am. But yes, I will be more careful and mindful about certain things. At the end of the day, that’s just who you are,” she adds.Through the difficult period, Isha says her mother has been her biggest source of strength. “I have a very strong mother. I was really fighting with her, but she is the one standing like a mountain. I feel that my spirituality, my morals, or whatever I believe in, comes from her.”‘I do believe in love, even if not romantically right now’ Despite the experiences of the past year, Isha says she has not become cynical about love. “I do believe in love. Not in a romantic way right now, but in the way that I feel loved by my mother, my friends. I don’t want to be a bitter person just because some shitty things happened to me. But I know that it might take a lot of time for me to heal,” she mentions.For now, she says marriage is not something she is thinking about. “I’m more scared about getting married again. In life, for me, shaadi is not there at all. But never say never because you don’t know. You don’t decide for yourself. Just surrender to God — whatever you give, I’ll receive because I don’t want to reject what God has decided for me. But romantically, I am in the healing part. But I do believe in love, if not romantically.”