Actor Eva Grover has spoken about her marriage to Hyder Ali Khan, Aamir Khan’s step-brother, saying they dated for only 18 days before eloping and getting married despite her mother’s objections to their inter-faith relationship.
In a recent conversation with Vickey Lalwani, Eva said she had long been in love with the idea of marriage but the relationship soon turned abusive after the wedding.
Eva said she stayed in the marriage for five years and tried to save it, including by choosing to have a child after four years together. However, she said the situation did not change, and she eventually left the marital home after becoming a mother, with support from her television colleagues and her family.
Recalling how quickly the marriage happened, Eva said, “The truth is, I had dated him for only 18 days. In 18 days, you don’t really know a person. Looking back, I don’t think all the blame lies with him. Maybe some of the fault was mine too because it was too soon.” She added, “He proposed, I didn’t listen to my mother or anyone else, and I ran away with him. My career was taking off at that time. We belonged to different religions, but on the 19th day, I left with him and we got married.”
“He was physically violent”
She said she soon realised that the man she had married was not the person she thought he was. “When I entered the marriage, I realised very quickly that he was not the person I thought he was,” Eva said. Speaking about the problems in the marriage, she said, “The first thing was his anger issues. They were far beyond anything I could have imagined. I had never dealt with that kind of aggression before because there were no men in my household while growing up.”
Asked if he assaulted her, Eva said, “Yes. He was violent. I don’t want to focus on specific days, but yes, he was physically violent.”
Eva said that after four years of marriage, she decided to have a child in the hope that it would help save the relationship, but that did not change either her situation or her husband. “Within a month of her birth, I reached my breaking point. I simply couldn’t take it anymore,” she said.
At the time, she was working on the television show Waqt Batayega Kaun Apna Kaun Paraya. She said the entire unit came together to help her. “One day, the entire unit decided they would help me. They came to my house, spoke to my mother, and encouraged me to leave the situation,” she said. “Thanks to all of them, I finally spoke to my mother. And my mother welcomed me back with open arms,” Eva recalled.
Eva recalls support from Tahir Hussain
She also remembered the support of the late filmmaker Tahir Hussain, who raised Hyder and was ’s father. “Tahir Hussain saab was a gem of a person. Whenever he got the opportunity, he would speak to me about it. He would get emotional and even cry,” she said. Eva also praised her former mother-in-law, Shahnaz, calling her “a golden-hearted woman”.
Eva Grover has worked extensively in television and films. She appeared in shows such as Kumkum – Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan, Karishma Kaa Karishma, Shararat, Waqt Batayega Kaun Apna Kaun Paraya, Sapna Babul Ka… Bidaai and Bade Achhe Lagte Hain. She was also seen in films including Aunty No. 1, Krishna Arjun and Ready.