When Gulf News interviewed Imran Khan's ex-wife Jemima Khan about her life in Pakistan, 'only non-arranged marriage in the family'

Dubai: As Imran Khan’s name trends once again in global headlines, we are revisiting an older interview conducted by Gulf News, with his former wife, writer and producer Jemima Goldsmith.

She was married to the former Pakistani cricketer and former Prime Minister in her early twenties.

The conversation, first published in 2023 by Gulf News, provides a reflective glimpse into her years living in Pakistan and the cultural traditions that shaped her understanding of love and marriage.

Goldsmith moved to Lahore in 1995 after marrying Khan, immersing herself in a society very different from her upbringing in the UK.

While the marriage ended in divorce nine years later, Goldsmith says her time in Pakistan left a lasting impression.

“I reflected on my experience of seeing successful arranged marriages up close in my ex-husband’s family — which was pretty conservative,” she told Gulf News.

“Ours was the only non-arranged marriage in the family.”

During her time in Pakistan, Goldsmith observed how families often played an active role in choosing life partners, prioritising compatibility, shared values and stability.

“I saw marriages that were practical, long-lasting and deeply rooted in family support,” she said, noting that the experience challenged many Western assumptions about romance.

Returning to the UK in her thirties, she found herself reflecting on the differences between dating cultures.

“A lot of my friends wanted to have kids and settle down, but they were finding it quite difficult,” she said. “It started as a joke about who their parents would have chosen and whether it would have worked.”

Goldsmith draws a clear line between coercion and choice.

“There’s a big difference between a forced marriage and an assisted marriage,” she explained. “Forced marriage has no place in the modern world. Assisted marriage is where you’re set up by the people who know you best and hopefully love you the most.”

She also reflected on how societal expectations can shape perceptions of love. “We’ve grown up with this idea of love at first sight and mythical, magical love,” she said. “That expectation can make people very unhappy.”

For Goldsmith, her years in Pakistan were formative, offering lessons about community, commitment and partnership that continue to influence her thinking today. “Living there made me question a lot of things I had taken for granted,” she said. “It wasn’t about judging one system over another, but about understanding that there are many ways people find happiness.”