Vijay Mallya is a prominent figure in the business world as the former chairman of the United Breweries Group. His business ventures have ranged from the failed Kingfisher airlines, real- estate and even owning the RCB cricket time at one point. He and his now-defunct Kingfisher airlines accumulated significant debt from a consortium of 17 banks, including SBI, IDBI and Indian Overseas Bank and ED unearthed evidence of wrongful fund diversion. Mallya fled to avoid further legal action regarding the repayment of this debt and other financial crimes. The sales of his assets have led to the recovery of a part of the owed amount.
Recently, Vijay Mallya’s appearance on Raj Shamani’s podcast generated a lot of public interest. However, did you know that Vijay Mallya’s marriages and rumoured relationships are just as intriguing as his businesses and legal troubles? Here is all there is to know about his first wife, Sameera Tayabji, and his subsequent relationships.
Vijay Mallya and Sameera Tayabji’s Marriage
Vijay Mallya met his first wife, Sameera Tayabji, in 1986 while on his way to the USA for work. She was working as an air hostess for Air India when he saw her and fell in love. He quickly decided to marry Sameera and proposed to her in mid-air. Sameera accepted the proposal and the lovestruck couple were married in the same year after dating briefly.
Initially, they seemed to make the picture-perfect couple and were deeply in love. Their passionate romance and swift marriage grabbed headlines throughout the nation. Shortly after their marriage, the couple welcomed their son, Siddharth Mallya in May 1987, in Los Angeles.
Vijay Mallya and Sameera Tayabji’s Divorce
Vijay Mallya and Sameera’s relationship began to go downhill just as drastically. Soon after their son’s birth, the family moved to England, where the marriage reached its breaking point. Reportedly, their irreconcilable differences and frequent fighting led to the marriage falling apart. The couple divorced each other in 1987. Their marriage had ended within one year.
Despite the divorce, Mallya has mentioned in interviews that he has a ‘great relationship’ with his ex-wife.
The Impact of the Divorce on Siddharth
Vijay Mallya and Sameera Tayabji’s son was still a baby when his parents separated, but he has since come out and shed light on how his parents’ divorce affected him. In his 2021 book, If I’m Honest, he writes candidly about various aspects of his life, such as his mental health, and includes his parents’ divorce in the topics he touched.
He elaborated on his decision to bring up the divorce in an interview with Khaleej Times, in which he said, “I think today the world is a little bit different. Something popped up on my Instagram feed the other day – the profile of a woman who is a ‘divorce coach’. She guides parents and children through the process of divorce from a mental and psychological point of view. That shows, I guess, that more things like that exist today than perhaps when my parents got divorced 25 years ago. But I definitely think that divorce is one of those things that tends to get swept under the rug because it’s become so common, which is why people think it’s just a way of life.”
Siddharth shares an amicable relationship with both his parents, particularly his mother. According to him, while he does not know if his father read the book, he is aware that he (Vijay Mallya) purchased it and even sent Siddharth a photo with the book. Sameera Tayabji, on her part, has read it and is very proud of her son.
Vijay Mallya’s Relationships After His Divorce from Sameera
While there haven’t been any confirmed reports of any other marriages or relationships in Sameera’s case, her former husband has gone on to fall in love again after the divorce.
After his divorce, Vijay Mallya re-connected with his childhood friend and second wife Rekha, who was also an air hostess. Rekha, too, was going through the process of divorcing her second husband at that time. The two childhood friends fell in love and got married in June of 1993. Rekha already had two children, Kabir and Laila, from her previous marriage, with Mallya ending up adopting Laila. The couple have since had two more children, daughters Leanna and Tanya.
Though there are no reports of a divorce between Rekha and Vijay Mallya, he has been widely rumoured to have married (or intending to marry) former Kingfisher Airlines air hostess, Pinky Lalwani. Despite a 23-year age-gap, there are speculations about the couple being in a live-in relationship. They have been spotted together on multiple occasions, and there have also been reports of Pinky’s presence during Vijay Mallya’s court trials in UK
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