‘They said I had affairs’: Samantha Ruth Prabhu slams rumours

Samntha Ruth Prabhu has slammed “false rumours” about having “affairs” and “abortions”, as stories circulate about the South Indian star’s split from actor Naga Chaitanya that has sent shockwaves through the industry.

Ruth Prabhu has been at the receiving end of rumour mongering with actor Siddharth also called out earlier over a tweet where he supposedly implied that the actress cheated on her famous husband. Finally breaking her silence over the stories in the media, Ruth Prabhu took to her Instagram Story to set the record straight.

“They say I had affairs, never wanted children, that I am an opportunist and now that I have had abortions. A divorce in itself is an extremely painful process. Let alone allowing me the time to heal. This attack on me personally, has been relentless. But I promise you this, I will never allow this or anything else they say, break me,” the 34-year-old actress wrote, even as she thanked her fans for supporting and defending her.

While actress Rakul Preet Singh came out in support of Ruth Prabhu on social media, ‘Shaakunthalam’ producer Neelima Guna took to the media to set the record straight, refuting the story that the ‘Family Man 2’ star split with Chaitanya because she didn’t want to have a baby.

“When my father, director Gunasekhar garu approached Samantha last year for ‘Shaakunthalam’, she loved the story and was excited. But, she told us shooting must be wrapped up by July or August as she was planning to start a family with Naga Chaitanya,” Guna told the Hyderabad Times.

Guna further added that Ruth Prabhu was worried the film may be delayed and was unsure to take up the project. “She wanted to be a mother; she told us that was her priority. Period films take time and she was really apprehensive to say yes. But we assured that due to extensive pre-production, we had cut down on a lot of time. She was happy and on-board as soon as she heard this,” said Guna, adding: “She wanted to plan a family, take a break and look after her children. We didn’t take a break through the schedules because we wanted to accommodate her request.”

Chaitanya, who is the son of South Indian superstar Nagarjuna Akkineni, married Ruth Prabhu in October 2017. Rumours of a rift first floated last month when the actress dropped Akkineni from her handles on social media and reverted to her maiden name Ruth Prabhu.

Finally, on October 2 the couple took to social media to announce the split saying they are to “part ways as husband and wife to pursue our own paths.”

Days after the split was announced, South Indian actor Siddharth took to Twitter with a cryptic tweet that read: “One of the first lessons I learnt from a teacher in school... ‘Cheaters never prosper’. What’s yours?”

The ‘Aruvam’ actor and Prabhu reportedly dated in 2013, however they never made their relationship public. While Siddharth’s post didn’t name any names, fans of Ruth Prabhu and Chaitanya felt it was targeted at the former couple with several taking to social media to slam the star and call him out over his tweet, calling it “misogynistic” and “below the belt”.