Parenting lessons to learn from proud single moms in Bollywood

Celebrities have the power to influence as well as challenge societal biases and stigmas. One such bias in society is seen against single moms, who choose to not marry and still become moms, or separate from their partner.

There are several Bollywood celebrity moms who bravely shut down all kinds of gossip and drama around their personal life, to raise happy and confident children. Their journeys may be very different from each other, but what keeps them going is to have faith in themselves, not bow down to societal shame, and shower love on their beautiful children.

Neena Gupta has had a long career in the TV and film industry, seen recently in films like ‘Goodbye’ and shows like ‘Masaba Masaba’. Mother to fashion designer and actor Masaba Gupta, Neena chose to raise her daughter by herself, without marrying Masaba’s dad – former West Indies cricketer Vivian Richards.

Neena is the epitome of the brave, bold and cool mom who stands by her daughter through thick and thin.

Former Miss Universe and Bollywood actor Sushmita Sen adopted her elder daughter Renee in 2000. Back then, she was 24 years old. Sushmita later also adopted her second daughter Alisah in 2010.

Talking about the questions she battled to do what felt right to her, she wrote in an Instagram post, "Renee was born from my heart when I was just 24 years old. It was a big decision! Many questioned it. Why adoption? How will you raise a child without being married? Are you ready to be a single parent? You realise the impact this decision will have on your professional and personal life? The questioning & opinions were endless."

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Malaika Arora finalised her divorce with Arbaaz Khan in 2017, ending their 19 year old marriage. Despite the pressure women face for choosing divorce, Malaika held her head high and chose to live her life the way she wanted.

She got custody of their son Arhaan, who is currently studying in the US. When Arhaan was leaving home for higher studies, Malaika penned an emotional post on Instagram. She wrote, "As we both embark on a new n uncharted journey, one filled with nervousness, fear, excitement, distance, new experiences ...all I know is that I am super duper proud of you my Arhaan. This is your time to spread your wings n fly n soar n live all your dreams ....miss you already #allmine#myminime."

Mother to actor Sara Ali Khan and assistant director Ibrahim Ali Khan, actor Amrita Singh divorced from her ex-husband and actor Saif Ali Khan in 2004 and retained full custody of her kids.

In an interview, Sara said that she relies on her mother so heavily, she wouldn’t be able to live away from her. “My mother is a very liberal woman. She is my third eye in everyday life. She is the sound of reason, so, no, I’m never running away.”

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TV star Shweta Tiwari has put an end to her difficult marriages and embraced single motherhood. She married Raja Chaudhary at an early age and later divorced after accusing him of domestic violence. In 2013, she tied the knot with actor Abhinav Kohli. However, the second marriage also ended amid domestic abuse claims.

Shweta has a daughter – Palak Tiwar, from her first marriage, who is slowly rising to fame after her debut in Harrdy Sandhu’s song ‘Bijlee Bijlee’. The actor is also mom to 6-year-old son Reyansh Kohli.

Calling her kids her pillars of strength, Shweta told Bollywood Bubble, “I know they are suffering because I chose the wrong men. That was my fault, not theirs. But they are going through this strong, they are smiling through it.”