Today, the fitness queen-actress-judge Shilpa Shetty Kundra celebrating her 46th birthday.
On this special occasion, we bring you Shilpa & her businessman husband Raj Kundra’s fairy-tale-like love story.
The Bollywood diva & Raj are happily married for more than 11 years and are now proud parents of two kids- Viaan & Samisha.
From being business partners to dating each other to finally getting married- Shilpa & Raj’s journey is nothing but an out-and-out Bollywood movie. Have a look:
Jab Shilpa Met Raj
Did you guys know Shilpa met Raj for the first time during a business meeting in London? Yes, you heard this right! London-based businessman Raj Kundra was helping her out with the promotion of her perfume brand named ‘S2’. When the media started to speculate a spark between the two, Raj had put an end to such reports by saying:
“We are just friends. I have a business relationship with Shilpa regarding her perfume.”
Is ‘Love At First Sight’ a real thing?
For both Raj & Shilpa, it was love at first sight. Talking about her first meeting, the Baazigar actress once said in an interview:
“I met Raj in London through a common friend to discuss a business deal. I was swoon by his smile, charm, and persona.”
And what did Raj feel? While talking to the Filmfare magazine, he had stated:
“It was love at first sight. From the moment I saw her, I knew I’d love her to be my life partner. She’s got an angelic side to her. Her homely side grew on me as I got to know her. She’s a great housewife. She’s a supermom! She’s the wind beneath my wings and I try to be her support system. We are each other’s strengths.”
But at that time Raj was already married and was going through a divorce, which the actress was unaware of. After their first meeting, Shilpa had discussed Raj with her friend and felt disappointed when she got to know about his marriage.
“After he left, I asked my friend about him. He told me that he is already married and I was left disheartened. But, at that time, we did not know that Raj is going through a divorce. Four months later, Raj had once offered me to stay at his batch pad, since I was traveling to London frequently. I was surprised to know about his bachelor pad, and later he revealed that he is going through a divorce.”
The Secretly Dating Phase
In 2007, during the shoot of her film Life In A Metro, the Bollywood diva secretly started dating the business tycoon. When Shilpa made a guest appearance on Indian Idol 12, she talked about being in a hush-hush relationship with Raj and why the song ‘In Dino’ from the film is special for the couple.
“I was shooting for ‘Metro’ and during that time also went to the UK for Big Brother shoot. I was sure that BB would not last long, but one week turned into three weeks and three months, and eventually, I stayed there for five-six months. Metro shoot was stalled but Anurag was generous and said that whenever you get time come back and I will shoot your portions in the film first. At the same time, I met Raj and he liked In Dino song very much. I made it my ringer tone as well. Whenever this song plays, a smile comes on my face.”
Shilpa Shetty- ‘The Marriage Breaker’; Claimed Kavita
Like every couple, Shilpa & Raj too had to go through some hurdles in their relationship. Before Shilpa, Raj was earlier married to Kavita Kundra, the daughter of a British-Indian businessman. When Raj & Shilpa’s relationship became public, his ex-wife Kavita had reportedly accused Shilpa of being a ‘marriage breaker’. Not only that, but Kavita had also alleged that Raj had left her & her newborn daughter because of Shilpa.
But this couple stood by each other and proved Kavita’s allegations to be false. Raj had reportedly clarified that his marriage had already come to an end, and Kavita had broken off the marriage and left Raj about 12 months earlier.
The Oh-So Expensive Gifts
Well, Raj Kundra had really bought some expensive gifts to woo his lady love, Shilpa. From buying 3 Versace bags in different colours to buying a flat opposite ‘Jalsa’, Raj did almost everything for his real-life Simran.
“He was trying to woo me with Versace bags. In fact, he sent me three bags of the same style in three different colors, and I was astonished. He was constantly throwing hints at me. But, I asked him to give it a full stop as I don’t want to spoil the friendship and bond we shared. Moreover, I was never going to shift to London, though I was dying to get married at that time (laughs).”
The actress had also revealed what made her believe in Raj’s decision to be with her.
“The building, where Raj bought the flat was not even constructed completely. It only had the 2nd floor, when we went to see it. But, he enthusiastically said, ‘I’ve bought the 7th floor.’ He then told me whether he works from here, or functions out of London doesn’t really matter. It is then when he made it clear that he had decided.”
The Proposal With a 5-Carat Ring:
Raj’s proposal was indeed a larger-than-life thing and it happened at IIFA Yorkshire. He had booked the entire banquet hall at The Grand and with violinists playing.
“He’d booked out the whole banqueting hall at The Grand. A bit OTT… he had like these violinists playing… He conned me into it, He said we are having lunch at a friend’s place so dress up well. Not casually, just dress up well and my sister told me to wear red, so it was already planned. He told me from Mumbai we are going to this really cool place. I had no clue, but he had already asked my parents. So, the setting was all there and the cloche opened, and he did propose in the last course, dessert and it was this diamond ring.”
While Raj’s proposal was romantic, Shilpa’s reaction wasn’t romantic at all; it was rather hilarious. She took a while to say ‘yes’. Reason? While narrating the story, Shilpa had said:
“It was a 5-carat diamond ring and I might sound really materialistic here, but I was like it’s just 5 carats. So, I took a while to say yes because I was like ‘This is not what I imagined’. No no, I was just joking… So, he was like, because I took 2 seconds more, he was like, ‘The wedding ring will be bigger’, that’s Raj for you. So, I said yes there.”
The Big Fat Indian Wedding
After all the hurdles, ups, and downs, the much-in-love couple finally had tied the knot on November 22, 2009, in the presence of their family members. The wedding & pre-wedding bash had taken place in Shilpa’s close friend’s farmhouse in Khandala. The couple had their engagement almost a month before their wedding at Raj’s Juhu bungalow, wherein he had gifted him a 20-carat solitaire diamond ring reportedly worth Rs 3 CRORES.
Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra’s reception had taken place on November 24, 2009, at the Grand Hyatt Mumbai, which was attended by almost every B-Town celeb.
A Perfect Happy Family
In 2012, Shilpa Shetty gave birth to her son Viaan Raj Kundra. And after 8 years, Shilpa & Raj Kundra welcomed their girl child Samisha Shetty Kundra via Surrogacy.