Yuzvendra Chahal breaks silence on divorce with Dhanashree, 'cheating' allegations: 'I had suicidal thoughts'

Senior India cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal, on Thursday, broke his silence on his divorce from Dhanashree Verma. He opened up about what went wrong in their five-year marriage and spoke about his mental health struggles after facing cheating allegations amid divorce rumours earlier this year. Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhanashree Verma got divorced earlier this year, in May(dhanashree9/Instagram)

Chahal and Dhanashree married in 2020, but cracks in the relationship began to show by the third year of marriage. Speaking to Raj Shamani on his YouTube channel, the 35-year-old revealed that the two had chosen to keep their separation process private until it was finalised.

"It was going on for a long while. We decided we do not want to show the people. Who knew if it did not happen? Maybe it will become a different scenario. We were like until we reached a point of no return, we are not going to say anything. We will be like a normal couple on social media," said Chahal.

When pressed about whether he was faking it at that time, Chahal nodded his head, implying, 'Yes.'

The Indian leg-spinner explained that both he and Dhanashree were deeply focused on their respective careers, making it difficult to prioritise the relationship, and hence, with time, the emotional disconnect grew. He added that relationships require compromise, but sometimes two people's personalities or ambitions may not align.

"A relationship is like a compromise. If one gets angry, the other has to listen. Sometimes the nature of two people does not match. I was playing for India, she was also doing her. This was going on for 1-2 years.

"At that point, I was so much into it, I had to give time here, give time there. I was not able to think about the relationship. Then it happens every day, you think, leave it. Two ambitious people can stay together. Everyone has their own lives. Everyone has their own goals. As a partner, you have to support it. You are working for something for 18-20 years, you cannot leave it for a relationship," Chahal added.

Chahal also opened up about being called a "cheater" during the divorce proceedings earlier this year.

"I think when my divorce happened, people alleged me of being a cheater. I have never cheated in my life. I am not that kind of a person. You won't find anyone more loyal than me. I think from my heart for my closed ones, always. I do not demand, I always give. When people don't know anything, but they keep blaming me, so you start thinking [otherwise]," the India bowler said.

"Because I have two sisters and have grown up with them since childhood, I know how to respect women, because my parents have taught me how to respect them. I've learnt my life lessons from people around me. It is not necessary that if my name is being linked to someone, people get to write anything about it, only for views," the Haryana-born commented.

‘Suicidal thoughts’

Chahal admitted that facing public scrutiny and his personal struggles at the same time took a serious toll on his mental health. He revealed that he went through sleepless nights, slipped into depression, and even had suicidal thoughts.

"I had suicidal thoughts, I was tired of my life, I used to cry for 2 hours. I used to sleep just for 2 hours. It went for 40-45 days. I wanted a break from cricket. I was so busy in cricket. I was not able to concentrate. I used to sleep for 2 hours. Used to share suicidal thoughts with my friend. I used to get scared," he said.

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