Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora were an ideal couple in Bollywood until their divorce news came in 2016. The couple got officially separated in 2017 after 19 years of marital bliss. Despite their divorce, Arbaaz and Malaika are successfully co-parenting their son, Arhaan Khan. In a recent interview, Malaika Arora opened up about how difficult it was to drop the famous surname ‘Khan’ after her divorce.
“I had loads of people tell me that I am making the biggest mistake of dropping the surname. A lot of people tell me ‘you don’t realize the weightage a surname.’ I have a lot of respect for my ex-in laws and ex-family, they have given me a lot of love. I have a kid, and I am very much part of the family, but for me, I needed to stand on my own two feet and not just about the surname. For me being able to drop the surname and going back to my maiden surname, it just gave me a sense of self. That just made me feel I could take on or do anything in life.”
Benefits Of Being Arbaaz Khan’s Wife
“It did have a lot of benefits in my life but I don’t think I could rest on the fact that I had a famous surname. I don’t think that was my endow to everything I wanted to do in my life. It did open up a lot of doors for me but I think at the end of the day I have to work irrespective of my married surname. And, I had to work hard and prove myself every single day of my life to stay in the game. And, the day I had the surname and I went back to my maiden name I still continued to work, to make a difference”, Malaika Shared.