In recent times, no other star couple has received the amount of press coverage and limelight like Hrithik Roshan and Sussanne Khan. Their divorce may not have been surprising due to a rocky past and rumours of ongoing turbulent affairs, but still came to many as a bolt from the blue. What followed in the next couple of months was a test of patience for both former husband and wife. An aftermath that was filled with scribes publishing smear campaigns describing everything from substance abuse, wild parties, public affairs, bouts of uncontrollable temperaments at their domicile to a whopping 400cr alimony.
While all of this was happening in the outside world, the couple had created a sort of force field to protect their household, their individual families and their kids from all kinds of vitriolic press reports. When first reports of the gargantuan alimony amount hit the public, it was Sussanne herself who stepped in and rubbished all unfounded information.
After that came a tsunami of rumours about Hrithik’s yearlong affair with Kangana Ranaut. The information that sneaked out to the public was so unnerving and spiralling out of control that both parties went on a military PR exercise. It was like the whole industry was divided on those two fronts. From leaked private letters to online statements of complete denial, the onslaught went for months with no end in sight.
But what mattered in all of this was the support Hrithik and Sussanne ushered on each other. While their marriage of 15 years might have been chaotic, it’s the support, rocksteady friendship and their parenting that made them stand by each other. It’s this friendship and forgiveness that eventually made every rumour, hearsay reports and its repercussions die down. And it’s this relationship post divorce that proved to be a shining example of how to keep things amicable, unshakeable and resilient in stormy seas and gave us #friendshipgoals.