Kamya Panjabi on her first marriage: 'I continued to tolerate a lot, I used to feel very weak'

TV actor Kamya Panjabi has opened up on the struggles she faced during her first marriage and how she came out of it. Kamya was earlier married to businessman Bunty Negi, but they called it quits in 2013, after 10 years of marriage.

Kamya married Shalabh Dang, in a grand ceremony last year. The couple has frequently been sharing glimpses of their love-filled marriage on social media.

She said how wouldn't hesitate in admitting she gave 10 years to her marriage with Bunty and did everything to save it. Kamya told Times of India, "I didn't want to separate. I continued to tolerate a lot. I used to return from award functions and look in the mirror and wonder: Am I the same person who just a few minutes back was being cheered loudly for her award? I was very unhappy and used to feel very weak that I couldn't help myself. Yes, I gave it one more shot and went back to Bunty; I didn't want to regret later that I didn't try to my fullest extent. Meanwhile, Aara was born. But yet, it didn't work out.'" She added that her parents as well as friends wanted her to end the marriage as it was not working out.

"When I finally ended it, it happened when Bunty had met with an accident and was on bed rest. I saw that I was doing so much, but yet I was not being acknowledged. Worse still, the fights were still happening even when he was advised to take full rest, and a time came when I anyway thought that I should move out to make him feel better."

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She also remembered the day she left and decided to end it all. "Woh din mujhe aaj bhi yaad hai (I still remember the day I left). I didn't tell anybody. I just took my handbag and moved out. My mom had come over and she took care of Aara in my absence. I stayed in a hotel all alone; I was shooting for Nautanki then. I didn't want anybody around me to color my mind. I waited for Bunty to get better so that he could find a place for himself. And then, I returned. And mind you, 'Nautanki' was a comedy show," she added, reminding that she was shooting for the comedy show while going through it all.

Ahead of her second marriage last year, Kamya had claimed she was “reluctant to get into another relationship”. Talking to Hindustan Times, about Shalabh in a 2019 interview, she said, “I’m very happy with Shalabh. With him, life is different. Now I know what blushing and glowing in love means. Now I know what it feels like to be head over heels in love with someone. I know what emotional security means,” adding it’s the first time in 40 years that “I feel so happy and loved and I’m looking forward to another 40 years with him”.