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Ayesha Omar. Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News

Weeks ago, rumours spread that sports stars Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik were facing marital problems, and Pakistani actress Ayesha Omar was accused of being involved in their rift.

Since then, Malik and Mirza haven’t directly addressed the rumours but Omar has stepped in to defend herself.

A fan had left an Instagram comment asking if the actress was going to marry Malik. She responded in Urdu, saying: “No, not at all. He is married and is very happy with his wife. I respect both [Malik and Mirza] a lot. Shoaib and I are friends... there are relationships like this in this world.”

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Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza. Image Credit: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News

Earlier, reports claimed that Pakistani cricketer Malik and Indian tennis star Mirza had ended their 12-year-long marriage and were co-parenting their son Izhaan Mirza Malik. Simultaneous, an old advertisement featuring Malik and Omar posing in a pool went viral and many raised suspicions about them having an affair.

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Mirza and Malik seemed to brush off the accusations, when the cricketer wished his wife for her birthday.

Many also accused the infidelity controversy of being a PR stunt ahead of the release of the couple’s talk show, ‘The Mirza Malik Show’, which they have been on a promotion spree for on social media.

Mirza and Malik got married in 2010 and have living in Dubai since then.