Akangsha Rawat describes her divorce with Piyush Sahdev: “He cheated on me; no alimony, no chance of having children of the right age” – Exclusive

Akangsha Rawat and Piyush Sahdev have filed for divorce. Akangsha gives us an overview of her estranged marriage and reveals that she, Piyushand, eventually filed for divorce. “It finally happened by mutual consent. We agreed on certain terms and the filing was in December 2022. I didn’t talk about it at the time as there were already reports that we had submitted. The truth was anything but different.” “It only happened five to six months ago. It has been an ordeal and I must finally let go of my charges to move forward in life. But it’s time to reveal the real reason we broke up,” she says.
Read on for the interview:
You lost your mother to cancer. Did she know the details of your quarrel with Piyush?
Piyush was ill and bedridden for the last 2.5 years of our marriage. During this time he asked me to sell many lakhs worth of my mutual funds and other assets, he even borrowed money from my retired father. And when he decided to end the marriage, he promised me and my family that he would pay us back all the money he owed me. He seemed very apologetic so we believed him he was doing two shows at this point ‘Beyhadh’ and ‘Devanshi’ and was making almost 5 to 7 lakh rupees a month so he could easily have given our money back but soon he had moved out, he refused to pay me back the money. Several attempts from mutual friends failed and he told me I could go to court to get my money if I wanted. While my mother was battling cancer and I had spent all my savings on Piyush’s treatment and expensive lifestyle, I was almost penniless and forced to go to court.
They said he was semi-bedridden for 2.5 years. What was his suffering?
First, he had an injury that required surgery and then prescribed bed rest for six months. He then suffered a herniated disc that injured his back. The grinding wheel kept reoccurring. In all, he didn’t work for two and a half years before making a comeback with Beyhadh.
How much money do you think he owed you?
He owed me and my father 45 lakh rupees, which he had agreed upon during the separation and which he had also given us in writing.
I didn’t even have money to pay the rent and moved to Delhi with my sick mother.
It lasted seven years and I was still fighting the case. There came a stage when I was mentally and physically tired and drained, so I decided to let go of all cases. It’s the price I’m willing to pay for my peace of mind and happiness.
What was the incompatibility factor that led to the breakup?
Piyush cheated on me and I caught him in the first six months of our marriage. I gave him chances but he hasn’t changed for two and a half years. It seemed like he had started a new chapter, but only for the times when he wasn’t feeling well. When he came back to work, meaning “Beyhadh”, he started cheating on me again. Apparently he had made me his nurse and breadwinner. Was there any point in continuing the marriage?
What was your first reaction when you found out he was cheating on you?
I was deeply shocked. He had presented himself to me as someone who had not been in a relationship prior to our marriage.
After we broke up, I found out that he hadn’t paid the rent he used to take from me either. I had a panic attack and was admitted to Evershine Nursing Home (Malad). This hospitalization occurred in 2017.

You said you agreed on certain terms. What are these terms?
The terms are that he will pay Rs. 15 lakhs in two parts, of which he has paid Rs. 7.5 lakhs so far (in three installments of Rs. 2.5 lakhs each) and pay the remaining Rs. 7.5 lakhs in court will deposit once I drop all lawsuits filed against him which I will receive from the court after I sign the divorce papers. And mind you, he will pay no alimony and alimony.”
Have you demanded alimony and/or alimony?
Yes, but he refused. And he wants this case to be dropped as well.

So now?
Now I’m waiting for my attorney and his attorney to get back to me if I need to drop the charges.
To be honest I have less confidence in him that he will pay the balance of 7.5 lakh rupees once I have dropped all lawsuits against him as it seems he doesn’t care about a divorce anyway. Nevertheless, he enjoys his life. Anyway…
I hope he doesn’t betray me or the court again, hope this time he keeps his word so we can both finally be rid of this ugliness and move on peacefully in life.
Did you think of a reconciliation?
No, I don’t think he ever wanted to reconcile. And my mom was sick when we broke up and then she died so I never had time to think about reconciliation.
Did your parents tell you to make up?
My family was too shocked and traumatized by my mother’s cancer diagnosis and at the same time by Piyush’s actions and behavior that they only tried to reconcile us shortly before my mother’s death. I have to tell you that she wanted to meet Piyush one last time and ask him to put an end to the ugliness and move on peacefully; She was very worried about my future as all my savings were gone. We sent many requests to Piyush but he did not come to Delhi to meet my dying mother.
When the mediator asked him about it in court, he said he had told my lawyer to accompany him to the meeting with my mother because he wanted security.

Didn’t you ask your lawyer about it?
No, I’m too tired now because I’ve been through the whole procedure for so long. Honestly, since my marriage, counting, it has all cost me 10 years of my life and the chance to have kids of the right age. I love children and like any normal girl I would have liked to have a family life. Please, why couldn’t he have come with a friend or relative if he was feeling so uncomfortable and scared?
You can still get married after a divorce…
I’m still not divorced. It’s pending. Will he pay the balance? Time really flies. I see a chance, albeit small, of fulfilling my dream of becoming a mother.
Will you work with Piyush if you are offered a joint project?
No, I don’t want to work with him because I don’t trust him to be honorable or respectable to me in our workplace and I’m an extremely professional and dedicated actor. I would hate if my work suffered because of our equation. Our relationship is irreparably damaged on all levels, at least for this life.

Keep going…
I wish Piyush a happy future, a happy life and a successful career. I forgave him with great difficulty. I also understood where I made a mistake.
what did you do wrong
By choosing Piyush and marrying him too soon.
In my opinion, every couple should take their time before taking the final step. You should make sure that they are compatible at all levels. By the time we realized we weren’t compatible on any level and marriage was based on need and there was no real love, we were already married.
What do you mean by “need-based”?
Today, most marriages fail because people enter relationships out of need, either because they are lonely, or because of age, society, or parental pressure to marry them. In this desperation, they make a commitment. Most often what they think of as love is attraction, attachment, or filling a void or need. When they realize this fact, they are already married. They then have to face the reality of each other’s true personalities, which in turn leads to arguments and unhappiness. I hope my ordeal will end soon.
When contacted a few minutes ago, Piyush Sahdev told ETimes TV: “I can’t speak right now. I need to talk to my legal department and then get back to you.” Akangsha then dropped the bombshell claiming Piyush cheated on her in their marriage. We came back to the SMS specifically addressed to Piyush and even called him. He replied, “Sorry, I couldn’t take your call. These allegations are unfounded and I will only say ‘No Comments’ as the matter is still before the courts. Our pages are always open for Piyush to comment fully on his story.