Imran Khan reveals why his marriage to Avantika Malik ended: 'I was an absolute wreck'

Actor Imran Khan, who first spoke publicly about his struggles with anxiety and depression in 2024, has now revealed how prioritising his mental health helped him recognise that his marriage to Avantika Malik was no longer working.

Khan credits early exposure to mental health conversations to his mother, a psychoanalyst. He said that as early as 2016, well before his divorce, he realized something was off, he was living with fear and crippling anxiety, an 'absolute' wreck' and disconnected from the person he thought he was, and knew he needed to change, he told ET Times.

After this introspection, he reassessed his marriage. “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.

Khan stressed that his divorce was a step toward healing rather than the source of his struggles. He noted that while many assumed the split triggered his crisis, the most challenging period was actually the final years of his marriage. Ending the relationship became a turning point, giving him space to grow and heal, and move away from a partnership where neither could support the other fully. Despite the pain, he said separation was ultimately healthier than remaining in an unhealthy environment.

Imran Khan and Avantika Malik, who first met in 2002, married in 2011 and separated in 2019 after eight years together. They share a daughter, Imara Malik Khan, born in 2014.