Raqesh Bapat on the hate Ridhi Dogra is getting for his split with Shamita Shetty: No third person can break a relationship

Actors Raqesh Bapat and Shamita Shetty referred to as #ShaRa by fans, officially announced their breakup on Instagram last week, after months of speculation. Bapat’s ex-wife, actor Ridhi Dogra also put up a post stating how she has been receiving hate for the split. Bapat who remains Dogra’s “well-wishers” is “shocked” by the entire episode: “I don’t know why people think this (her to be the reason behind their breakup). She has been getting the crap from the audience for no reason. When there’s no truth to the fact. And it hurts me when somebody talks this way to a dear person of mine. ’No third person can break a relationship; it is only two people. It is between them if they can work it out or not. It’s totally up to them. Anybody coming in is not a reason for a breakup.”

Calling his current equation with Shetty “great”, Bapat mentions that they will “always be cordial”. He adds, “The phase was one of the most beautiful phases of my life, I won’t deny that. We met in a space where we were supposed to work. That’s why we wanted to come out and see what’s the real equation (between us). We realised not all people are the same where nature is concerned, and the way you look at life. You don’t have to be stuck in something which you have to do. If it happens organically it’s the most beautiful feeling. If something doesn’t work out, it’s not necessary to be spiteful or we can’t see each other’s space and it’s uncomfortable. Yes, it can become (uncomfortable) for a while till you get used to it. But then it becomes water under the bridge. Today also there’s nothing (wrong). It’s all good between us.”

The Tum Bin (2001) actor admits that the pressure from their fandom did affect their relationship. “Yes, it does create pressure. Somewhere it becomes a situation where you don’t know how to react to it, you don’t know how to process the whole thing. Because it’s not just two people who are involved, there’s a full family of fans who are involved in this. So it became like a marriage. I think this was like a marriage of two people with respect to the fans. So it was our responsibility to not hurt them and tell them that yes it is not working out and we appreciate the love you gave us,” Bapat elaborates.

The 43-year-old Bapat also confesses that the two “dealt with it (the breakup) very maturely.” “There was no crying or sobbing. It was just two people who loved each other taking a decision which is best for each other,” he concludes.