MUMBAI: Fans, audience and friends of Rinku Dhawan and Kiran Karmarkar were shocked when it was reported over two years ago that the couple is living separately.  

The two had a 15-year-old marriage and they never spoke about it before. However, it has now been confirmed that the two are officially divorced. 

In an interview with Bombay Times, Kiran opened up about what went wrong. Kiran said, “We got married in 2002. It was a 15-year-old marriage and the best part of our relationship is that we share a son. Ideally, no one wants a marriage to break, and the notion that two actors can’t make a marriage work is incorrect because marriages don’t break only in the film and TV industry. I don’t think that our marriage ended because of the demands of the profession. There came a situation when we did not agree on many things. The circumstances and situations compelled us to take our son into confidence and explain to him that we wanted to separate. But we made sure that he would not suffer in the process. Today, he doesn’t have to choose between staying with Rinku or me. He is free to stay with either of us and chooses to do whatever he wants. We have told him that together we will support him in good and bad situations, and will also correct him if he is wrong. We do go together for all our son’s activities and meet during festivals. We have made it a point that our differences will not affect the equation in the family." 

Did incompatibility led to the divorce? He said to the daily, “Compromise is a very subjective term. You can’t really have a yardstick on what should be the level of compromise two individuals should make in a relationship. But yes, tolerance levels are low these days. A slight provocation results in a big fight. If your car is hit by another vehicle, there is a war on the road (laughs!)” He added, “Rinku and I weren’t compatible, and so, we thought it was best to move on. When we got married, obviously, we never thought that we would come to this point, because no one can predict the future. There are individuals stuck in marriages, and their fights go to the extent of hitting each other. Thankfully, Rinku and I have handled this well, and we are neither enemies nor are we dead for each other.” 

On the idea of getting married again, he said, "I am not scared to take the plunge again, and I continue to believe in love. But, right now I can’t say that I want to find someone. These things are best left to destiny. A companion is every individual’s requirement. I have accepted that my first marriage did not work out, but that does not make me pessimistic about the future.” 

When Rinku was asked about having a companion in life, she said, "Nobody wants to live a lonely life. A companion is important to share one’s thoughts. But if you ask me about marriage, honestly, I am done with it. My friends keep telling me to think about marriage again, but I feel what’s important is to find the right person.”