Eva Grover has spoken candidly about her turbulent marriage to Haider Ali Khan, revealing that days after their wedding she realized she had made a mistake. In a recent conversation, Eva talked about her obsession with marriage in her youth, the warning signs she ignored, and the years of abuse she endured before she finally left.Recalling her early dreams of settling down, Eva admitted that marriage was her biggest ambition since her teenage years.“Actually, this obsession didn’t start when I was 26 or 27. It started when I was around 15 or 16. I was completely obsessed with the idea of marriage. I must have done 16 more fasts than most people because all I wanted was for Shiv Ji to bless me with the marriage,” she told Vicky Lalwani.Eva said she imagined a fantasy life filled with romance, children and a loving family. However, the reality turned out to be very different.
“I only dated him for 18 days.”
The actress revealed that she married Haider Ali Khan after knowing him for less than three weeks.She said: “The truth is I only dated him for 18 days. In 18 days, you don’t really know a person. Looking back, I don’t think all the blame goes to him. Maybe it was some fault of mine too because it was so early.”
According to Eva, she ignored the concerns of family and friends and ran away with him despite their different backgrounds.“He proposed to me, and I didn’t listen to my mother or anyone else, and I ran away with him. My career was taking off at that time. We belonged to different religions, but on the 19th, I left with him and we got married,” she recalls.
“His anger issues were beyond anything I imagined.”
Eva said it only took a few days for her to realize that the man she married was completely different from the man she thought she knew.“When I got married, I realized very quickly that he was not the person I thought he was,” she said.Describing the problems that arose, Eva added: “The first thing was his anger issues. They were far beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I had never dealt with this kind of aggression before because there were no men in my house while I was growing up.”When asked directly if he was violent, Eva replied: “Yes.
He was violent. “I don’t want to focus on specific days, but yes, he was physically violent.”
“I felt like I was the problem.”
Despite the abuse, Eva stayed in the marriage for years, hoping things would improve.“Because I loved him,” she said, adding that she often blames herself for the situation.“I always felt like I was at fault. I was told that I was the problem, that I wasn’t capable enough, that I couldn’t handle things right,” she said.The actress also said that conversations about mental health were rare at the time, which made it difficult for her to seek help.“In those days, mental health wasn’t discussed like it is today,” she said.
Taher Hussein I tried to help
Eva had kind words for the late director Tahir Hussain, who raised Haider and is the father of actor Aamir Khan.“Tahir Hussain Saab was a gem of a person. Whenever he got the chance, he would talk to me about it. He was emotional and even cried,” she said.She also praised her former mother-in-law, Shahnaz, and described her as a “woman with a golden heart.”
“Having a child does not fix a broken marriage.”
After years of marriage, Eva became pregnant, thinking a child might improve the situation.“After four years, I allowed myself to get pregnant because I honestly believed things would get better. That’s what a lot of people are taught in our country — that a baby will save a troubled marriage,” she said.“But in severe cases, it usually doesn’t work that way.”Eva continued to work throughout her pregnancy, and said she remained hopeful that circumstances would change.
“My daughter became the turning point”
The actress revealed that the birth of her daughter finally gave her the courage to leave.“Within a month of giving birth, I reached a breaking point,” she said. “I simply couldn’t take it any longer.”At that time, Eva was working in the TV show Waqt Batayega Kaun Apna Kaun Paraya. She recalled how her colleagues noticed signs of her distress and intervened to support her.“One day, the whole unit decided they would help me,” she said. “They came to my house, talked to my mother, and encouraged me to leave the situation.”“Thanks to all of them, I finally talked to my mother. My mother welcomed me back with open arms.”Today, Eva says she is grateful to have rebuilt her life and remains especially grateful for the support system that helped her walk away from an abusive relationship.
