After two long-term and very public relationships that ended on a bad note, the self-confessed commitment-phobic television hunk Ssharad Malhotra is all set to tie the knot with a Delhi based fashion designer named Ripci Bhatia and settle down for good. Ssharad, who is currently a part of Star Bharat’s Muskaan, revealed to Bombay Times that he will tie the knot in the third week of April in Mumbai. Ssharad Malhotra’s Birthday Plans Involve Spending Quality Time, But With WHOM?

Ssharad was previously in a very long relationship with his Banoo Main Teri Dulhann co-star Divyanka Tripathi, but that ended on a bad note and so did his next relationship with model and actress Pooja Bisht. While Divyanka never really discussed the reason for her break up with Ssharad, Pooja had gone on to accuse Ssharad of cheating on her.

Ssharad revealed to the daily that there was no dating period for him and Ripci. “For a change, I didn’t date Ripci. Everything happened in an old-fashioned way for us, as we said a ‘yes’ without meeting each other much. In fact, she asked me recently why we didn’t date before deciding to tie the knot. It just didn’t happen,” confessed the actor. Sharad Malhotra Opens Up About Break-Up With Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya, Says 'I Was Immature and Made Mistakes'

However, come last year’s Ganpati festival, and that’s when Ssharad admits that things changed for the better for him. Opening up to the daily, Ssharad revealed, “When I was introduced to Ripci (by his sister who is also a designer), I had just come out of a relationship and was going through a difficult phase. Initially, we would just exchange occasional pleasantries on social media. It was only after Ganpati last year that we got talking on the phone, which was after my last relationship ended. What connected us probably was our fear of marriage. In fact, Ripci travelled the world for six years to avoid marriage, as the pressure on her was mounting. I would have loved to do that, too, but I was constantly working. It’s only recently that our families got involved after we spoke over the phone for a few days. Both of us instantly realised that this is it and decided to take the plunge.”

Talking about his fear of commitment, which the actor has been quite open about, he told BT, “I have always feared taking the plunge, as I would freak out thinking about the responsibilities that would come five years down the line. I developed cold feet every time a relationship graduated to the point of marriage.” When asked what changed, Ssharad continued, “After my last relationship ended, I took time out for myself and travelled just to introspect. I realised that bahut bhaag liya. I can either keep running away from marriage all my life, or get into it, experience it and see for myself if it’s good, bad or ugly. My mother was extremely happy when I gave my nod. Having said that, she didn’t give her approval immediately. She took her time to be sure that I was ready for it, given my colourful past. She feared that I would back out again. But everything happened organically. I would call it an arranged-cum-love marriage.”

Well, looks like Ssharad has finally found his perfect soul mate and life partner in Ripci. And we couldn’t be any happier for the actor and his would-be wife. Here’s wishing the couple loads of best wishes on their impending nuptials.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 06, 2019 03:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).