Harsh Chhaya reflects on divorce with Shefali Shah, says he regretted, lived with it for 5-6 months, then went on rebound dates

Actor Harsh Chhaya has once again reflected on his divorce from actress Shefali Shah, describing it as a challenging yet inevitable phase of his life. Harsh discussed society’s perception of divorce, coping with emotional upheaval and how he navigated the aftermath of his separation.

For those not in the know, Harsh and Shefali, who worked together on Zee TV’s 'Hasratein', married in 1994 before ending their marriage in 2000. Shefali later married filmmaker Vipul Shah, with whom she has shared over two decades of marriage. During the conversation, Harsh spoke candidly about divorce being viewed as a social taboo and how many people remain trapped in unhappy relationships. Reflecting on his own experience, he said, “It is a very personal case-to-case kind of thing, our case was very clear, I could see that the relationship was hitting a dead end. When I was told, ‘I cannot stay with you anymore’; 8-9 months before that, I knew this was coming. I was prepared. For me, even though I know what is happening, at that moment I don’t let it affect me mentally, so I focus on work, on myself, because I left Delhi and came to Mumbai for this. Personally, how one deals with it depends on them. I fortunately come from a space where I don’t get shaken easily.”



The actor also opened up about his emotional response after the split, saying that suppressing pain or pretending to be unaffected is not the answer. “You need to try and stay sane when a situation like this comes; if you are uncomfortable, live with it, don’t try to show yourself as strong. I lived with it for 5-6 months, regretted, shouted, etc. One day, I saw that you are under stress, everyone around you is willing to listen to your story, and share their views. Once I spoke to someone, we discussed each other’s issues, and later we went on a date; it happened a few times and I made it a formula. I went on multiple dates over 2-3 months. It takes time, you don’t have to show your bravery, rather show what you are feeling.”

Sharing his broader outlook on relationships, Harsh argued that divorce should not automatically be seen as a failure. He added, “Two people can’t stay together 24/7; I cannot live with my clone for 365 days. For me, divorce is not a big deal; in fact, if it has to happen, it should happen sooner rather than later, so the relationship is not dragged. When we decided, we got our application back-dated, declaring that we had been living separately for six months. We acted on it quickly.”

This is not the first time Harsh has addressed the subject publicly. In a 2024 interview with Siddharth Kannan, he had called the separation emotionally taxing but firmly in the past, saying, “The separation was pretty tough. It is an old story now. 20-25 years have gone by. For me, it is a closed chapter.”

In an earlier conversation with Hindustan Times, the actor had also spoken about accepting the end of the marriage with realism. “It hurt. The separation didn’t take me by surprise. I had seen it coming for almost eight months, and I still look back at it very pragmatically. Two people met, fell in love, got married, and parted ways. One couldn’t do anything about it. I felt it was better to separate than live a life where you don’t know where your marriage is going. After feeling bad and gathering enough sympathy for myself, I finally got out of it in six months.”