IMRAN KHAN SAYS MARRIAGE WITH AVANTIKA MALIK WAS 'UNHEALTHY', ENDED IT TO BECOME 'BEST VERSION OF MYSELF': 'I WAS A WRECK'

Actor Imran Khan, who first spoke publicly about dealing with anxiety and depression in 2024, has shared how prioritising his mental health helped him realise that his marriage was no longer working. The actor has candidly spoken about struggling with failure, his battle with depression, his separation from his wife Avantika Malik, and his devotion to his daughter, revealing vulnerable insights into his weakest moments.

Imran Khan revealed that his awareness of his mental health struggles began in 2016, long before his separation from Avantika Malik. He credited his mother, a psychoanalyst, for giving him early exposure to mental health conversations, free of stigma, he said in a conversation with ETimes.

Imran Khan realised something was wrong in 2016

“Well before my divorce, around 2016, I realised something was wrong. I just didn’t feel like the version of myself I saw in my head. I was interacting with the world out of fear and crippling anxiety. In my head, I thought I was chill, but I was an absolute wreck. When I saw that, I knew the self-image I was carrying wasn’t real, and I wanted to change that,” Khan said.

He described this period as a mental health scare that forced him to confront his state. “In June 2016, I started working on my mental health. I began analysis and made it my primary focus for 2016, 2017, and 2018. Besides being a full-time parent, I was actively working on fixing myself.”

Self-reflection led Imran to recognise his unhealthy marriage

It was during this introspective journey that Imran began to reassess his marriage with Avantika.

“Within that, I developed the understanding that my dynamic with my partner was unhealthy. Our relationship began when we were very young, and we didn’t have the life experience to understand what was healthy or unhealthy in a partnership. Once I became more conscious, I saw we were stuck in a cycle we couldn’t break. Any change required both of us, and it wasn’t happening. I understood that in order to be the healthiest, best version of myself, I have to remove myself from this relationship." he explained.

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Decision to separate for personal healing

Imran said that his decision to separate was a proactive step toward self-healing, not the trigger for his mental health struggles, as many speculated.

“I don’t blame anyone. I’ve been out of public sight. In the absence of me actually being there and speaking, rumours, gossip, speculation just goes about and things get muddled and conflated. Many assumed my divorce triggered my crisis, but the worst years were actually the last couple of years of my marriage. Choosing to end it was a turning point-it allowed me to heal and grow.  It is because we were not in sync; we were not able to support each other being the best version of ourselves. Whatever the hurt and trauma that comes from separation, it is still preferable to remaining in an unhealthy environment.”

Imran Khan on being a single father

Throughout this challenging period, Imran found stability and purpose in raising his daughter. “She has always been my anchor, my lighthouse. Even when I felt lost, my love for her and my responsibility toward her became my guiding principle. That’s what motivated me to work on myself and be a healthy father,” he said.

Seven years after his separation, Khan continues to be hands-on as a single parent. “I’ve never hired staff. I value the time with her; I don’t want anyone else putting her to bed or driving her to school. I am greedy—I want that time. Thursday to Sunday, she is with me, and I do everything myself: pack her dabba, read to her, drive her to school. This is the most valuable time for me, and I won’t give it up for anything else.”

Imran Khan and Avantika Malik tied the knot in 2011 and separated in 2019 after eight years of marriage. The couple, who first met in 2002, share a daughter, Imara Malik Khan, born in 2014.

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2026-02-03T10:04:03Z