Avantika Malik Says Imran Khan Ended Their Marriage: 'I Would Have Never Done It'

Avantika Malik has spoken publicly about the collapse of her marriage to actor Imran Khan, revealing that it was Khan who initiated their separation before the couple mutually agreed to divorce. She made the comments during a conversation on Soha Ali Khan's chat show.

According to Avantika, she would not have chosen to walk away from the relationship on her own. She said Khan initially wanted the two of them to spend time apart, and after roughly six months of separation they mutually agreed to divorce.

'It was his decision'

“It was him actually. I would have never done it. Probably to my own detriment, but I would have never done it. It was his decision,” she said.

Reflecting on the split, Avantika described how the separation forced her to confront the loss of the future she had imagined for herself — a change that stretched well beyond the relationship itself.

“When we initially separated, it is the death of the way you perceived your life would be, what you imagined your life would be, how it would play out. It’s probably the death of the most intimate relationship in your life at that point,” she said.

Unrealistic expectations and the slow erosion of a relationship

Avantika was 19 when she began dating Khan. Looking back, she said she had not fully understood that people must take responsibility for their own happiness rather than expecting a partner to supply it, and that such expectations can quietly corrode a relationship over time.

“You don’t realise that over the years, you end up kind of damaging the relationship because you have these unrealistic expectations from it,” she said.

She also made clear that the marriage did not end because of a single major disagreement or one defining incident. Having spent much of their younger years together, she said the two had not always treated each other fairly.

A relationship that spanned nearly two decades

Imran Khan and Avantika Malik began dating while they were young and married in 2011. Their relationship lasted nearly 18 years in total, including eight years of marriage, and their divorce was finalised in 2019.

In 2018, Khan moved out of his grandfather, filmmaker Nasir Hussain's bungalow, into a rented home — a move made during a period of personal change as he began rebuilding his life. Following the separation, the two continued to co-parent their daughter.

Khan has previously spoken about prioritising their time together, including cooking for her and setting aside days to focus on her needs. “When she is with me, I prefer to give her my complete attention,” he said in an earlier conversation with The Free Press Journal.

Fatherhood, a new perspective and life after divorce

Khan has also discussed how his personal experiences have shaped his outlook on life and his approach to acting. Speaking about his circumstances, he once said, “I am divorced and a father. I have seen life.” The actor has expressed an interest in telling more mature stories through his films, with his experiences of relationships and parenthood forming part of the perspective he brings to that ambition.

He has since been in a relationship with actress Lekha Washington, with the two reportedly living together since 2024.

On screen: Khan's career after 'Katti Batti'

Khan's last full-length theatrical release as a lead actor was the 2015 romantic drama Katti Batti, which also starred Kangana Ranaut. He later made a cameo appearance in the 2016 action-comedy Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos, directed by Vir Das.