Indian actor Arjun Rampal has described his divorce from former wife Mehr Jesia and his mother’s cancer battle as the ‘darkest’ and loneliest period of his life, during an interview reflecting on personal loss and emotional struggle.
Speaking on the YouTube programme ‘Cancelled to Crown’, Arjun Rampal said he experienced profound isolation while dealing with the breakdown of his marriage and multiple family challenges.
“I think the loneliest I have ever felt is when I was not connected with myself the way I am today,” he said. “My marriage was not working out and it’s sad because I think love is not constant. Everything in life is not constant. I think that was maybe the darkest phase of my life because at that point in time it was exactly the time my mum had cancer and I was losing her. I was losing everybody who was close to me. I had lost my father three years before that. I was losing friends. I was losing everything that I had worked so hard to get.”
Arjun Rampal was married to Mehr Jesia in 1998 after the pair met during his modelling career. They have two daughters together, Mahikaa and Myra. The couple announced their separation in 2018 and finalised their divorce in 2019.
He also spoke about meeting model and designer Gabriella Demetriades during this difficult period, describing her as a stabilising presence in his life.
“I was very lucky because I got somebody like Gabriella into my life who I think was a very strong anchor and was also coming from a space of maybe a lot of darkness as well. So we both were in the storm and we had to, like I said, weather it. But it’s good, we got to weather it together and then the blessings came,” he said.
Arjun Rampal’s relationship history includes his marriage to Mehr Jesia in 1998 after dating for some time. They share two daughters, Mahikaa and Myra. He later began his relationship with Gabriella Demetriades in 2018.
The couple have two sons born in 2019 and 2023, and confirmed their engagement during an appearance on Rhea Chakraborty’s podcast in December 2025.
On the professional front, Rampal was last seen in the films ‘Dhurandhar’ and ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’, directed by Aditya Dhar. He portrayed the character of ISI agent Major Iqbal and received praise for the role.
