Milind Soman, an actor, model, sports enthusiast and every girl’s teenage crush tied the knot with his girlfriend of five years, Ankita Konwar in 2018. Shattering a billion hearts, the 53-year-old married 27-years-old Ankita in a beautiful ceremony in Alibag, a small town in Maharashtra. The two are known to be quite private and have never actually spoken about how they met. Well, that changed yesterday.
In a recent post on Humans Of Bombay, Ankita shared their heartwarming love story, which will surely leave you teary-eyed. She touched on many topics briefly but explained in detail about how the two met by chance, the pain of losing someone she loved and the apprehension the couple faced because of their age gap.
Ankita began the story by talking about her then-boyfriend who had passed away suddenly, “I decided to move out of the country & started working with Air Asia, as a cabin crew in Malaysia. It was at that time that my then boyfriend, suddenly passed away. It was heartbreaking–it felt like there was no coming back. A couple of months later, I got posted in Chennai.”
Source: Instagram
She did not expect to strike up a conversation with Milind Soman, someone she has admired for years, “I was staying in a hotel with my colleagues. Once, in the lobby, I saw a tall, rugged man. It was Milind Soman! I was a big fan! So I went to say hello, but he was busy. A few days later, I saw him again at the hotel’s nightclub.”
Source: Instagram
But this time, things moved along fast. Ankita shared that their chemistry encouraged him to ask for her number, leaving her shell-shocked! “I kept looking at him & he was staring at me too! My friends urged me to go talk to him. So I asked if he’d like to dance & he obliged! There was a vibe–I could feel it! But I didn’t want to get too involved. So I excused myself & I thought he’d forget about me. But soon he came looking for me–he had to go so he asked for my number. It was a new number, so I didn’t remember it & didn’t have my phone on me either. So he made my friend take his number & asked me to message him. A few days passed by & I couldn’t get him out of my mind. So I texted him & we met again after a week, for dinner. After that, we’d constantly text & meet.”
Source: Instagram
So what paved the way for love? Ankita said it was the truth that got her involved in their relationship, “But I still couldn’t bring myself to get fully involved. Until one day, I told him that because of my past, with my boyfriend, there was a part of me that couldn’t let go. To which he said, ‘When I fell in love with you, I fell in love with all of you. Even the part that carries the burden of your past. So don’t be afraid, we’re in this together.’ That’s when I knew–this was the man for me!”
Source: Instagram
But this seemed like just the beginning! Because of their 26 year age difference, their friends and family were sceptics about their relationship. However, it didn’t matter to them and they decided to tie the knot, “We dated for 5 years after that–until we decided to get married! My family & a few others were worried because of the age gap between us. But it wasn’t an issue for us! So when they saw us together & they saw how happy I was around him, they agreed too!”
Source: Instagram
P.S: Did you know the couple actually got married more than once? “Believe it or not, we got married thrice! We had a traditional wedding in Alibaug, a white wedding in Spain under a waterfall & the third, at a place called ‘the end of the world’ there. He’s the best thing that’s happened to me; he taught me to let go, to fall in love, to be happy. And our adventures have only just begun–I can’t wait to live the rest of my life with him,” concluded Ankita.
The two can be seen casually enjoying a run around town at dawn and if that isn’t couple goals, we don’t know what is!
Featured Image: Instagram
