New Delhi: Actress Shefali Shah, who was last seen in Netflix’s Delhi Crime Season 3, has opened up about a deeply personal chapter of her life. The actor recently spoke about walking away from her first marriage after realising that staying in it could “kill” her emotionally.
Reflecting on her difficult journey, Shefali shared that she chose to live alone rather than remain in a relationship that no longer gave her joy or confidence.
Shefali was earlier married to actor Harsh Chhaya.
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As part of the Spotlight Sessions, posted on Zoom’s YouTube channel, the actress candidly spoke about this phase of her life. “Nobody told me that you are enough. You don’t need a husband, a friend, a brother or a sister to be complete. You are enough. So if you have great relationships, fantastic. But if you don’t, that’s not going to determine your value. Nobody told me that,” she said.
She further elaborated on the emotional toll she faced during those years. “You go through things and eventually realise it yourself. It comes to a point where it’s make or break for you. That’s when the realisation dawns. It may be happening every day, but then there’s that one moment when you think, ‘Okay, this can kill me. I can’t do this anymore,’” she added.
Opening up about the risk she took by walking out of her first marriage, Shefali said, “For me, this realisation came after my first marriage. A close friend once asked me, ‘What if you never find love again? Would you take that risk or stay?’ I replied that I would still take the risk. Even if I had to spend my life alone, I would choose that. I cannot remain in a situation that doesn’t bring me joy, confidence or make me feel valued.”
She continued, “That’s when I decided to move out and live alone for the first time, having always lived with my parents. As you grow older, you begin to care less about pleasing everyone. That’s when I reached a state of enlightenment, realising that I am not pizza—I can’t satisfy everyone.”
Shefali Shah later married filmmaker Vipul Shah in a low-key ceremony in 2000. The couple share two sons, Aryaman and Maurya.
On the work front, Shefali was most recently seen reprising her role as DIG Vartika Chaturvedi in Delhi Crime Season 3. The new season also stars Rasika Dugal, Rajesh Tailang, Huma Qureshi, Sayani Gupta, Mita Vashisht, Anshumaan Pushkar and Kelly Dorji, and is currently streaming on Netflix.
