
4 min learnNew DelhiMar 7, 2026 01:00 AM IST
Actor Neena Gupta just lately mirrored on her previous relationship with West Indies cricket legend Vivian Richards and the realities that led her to boost her little one as a single father or mother. Talking about why the connection didn’t progress right into a shared life, she mentioned, “It wasn’t sensible. Both I might have needed to go away behind my job and go to the West Indies, or he would have had to surrender his profession and are available to India; neither of which was doable.”
Chatting with Shubhankar Mishra, she additionally defined why she selected to not take financial support whereas elevating her daughter: “I didn’t really feel prefer it. I had a lot satisfaction. I by no means even requested my dad and mom for cash. I accepted solely what they supplied, significantly since they had been already against my changing into an actor. They at all times felt that performing wasn’t a very good (respectable) job. Since I got here to Mumbai towards their needs, how can I ask them for cash?”
Reflecting on the emotional aspect of the connection, she recalled being requested whether or not it was a correct love story or one thing extra informal and responded, “Go ask him,” including with amusing, “Everyone seems to be afraid to ask him. Why do all of you ask solely me? (sic)” She additionally shared, “I feel we had been in love. Though we had been collectively for less than a short time, the time we spent collectively was great.”
How do satisfaction and private values affect choices round accepting or declining monetary help from a accomplice?
Counselling psychologist Athul Raj tells indianexpress.com, “In remedy, I’ve discovered that cash in relationships is never nearly provision. It carries energy, which means, and emotional weight. When a lady declines monetary help, particularly in a scenario the place there isn’t a shared life, it may be about preserving psychological authorship. Accepting cash might really feel like accepting affect, even when none is explicitly imposed.”
For a lot of Indian girls who’ve fought arduous to construct skilled identities, Raj notes, self-reliance is deeply tied to dignity. Relocating or restructuring life totally round a accomplice’s geography or profession can really feel like shrinking oneself. “Private values develop into decisive right here. If independence types the core of 1’s id, compromising it will probably create quiet resentment. Kids are perceptive. They soak up emotional coherence. A father or mother who feels regular and self-respecting usually supplies a stronger basis than monetary consolation alone.”
The psychological influence
“These relationships are uniquely advanced as a result of there’s love with out feasibility,” explains Raj, including that nothing dramatic collapses. There’s affection, typically even deep attachment, however no workable future. That creates a grief rooted in chance. The thoughts repeatedly revisits imagined alternate options, questioning whether or not yet another sacrifice may have altered the ending.
“When geography and profession trajectories pull in several instructions, people face a battle between need and actuality. This usually produces lingering attachment, guilt, and self-doubt. Wholesome navigation requires grieving not simply the individual, however the imagined life. It includes recognising that compatibility is as structural as it’s emotional. Accepting limits with out villainising the opposite individual permits closure with much less bitterness and extra readability,” says Raj.
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Emotional and sensible help programs
Independence shouldn’t develop into isolation. Single dad and mom who maintain themselves deliberately construct networks. Prolonged household, trusted mates, steady childcare, and monetary planning scale back power stress. Parenting alone calls for endurance, and endurance requires help.
“Equally important is emotional containment. With out a co-parent in day by day life, the psychological load can accumulate quietly. Remedy, reflective areas, and friendships the place vulnerability is feasible assist prevent burnout. For kids, consistency and emotional availability matter greater than perfection. When a father or mother feels supported and controlled, the kid experiences resilience not as a wrestle, however as a energy lived day by day,” concludes Raj.





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