Photos: Sanjay Dutt and Maanayata celebrate 13th wedding anniversary

As Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt and his wife Maanayata celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary on February 11, here’s a look at this celebrity couple who have survived several highs and lows during their years of togetherness.

Sanjay and Maanayata acknowledged their marriage milestone on their social media accounts this morning. While Sanjay posted a picture of the two together, declaring his undying love for her, his wife was more elaborate. “Another year of fully accepting the dark and the light within each other … another year of holding on together … happy anniversary to my best grip in this world,” posted Maanayata Dutt on her Instagram account.

The actor had a more succinct message for his better half. After posting his marriage date and tagging his wife on Instagram, he wrote: “Loved you then. Love you even more now. Happy anniversary.” The image that he chose saw him look at her dotingly. Both are known to coordinate their outfits while posting pictures.

According to reports, Maanayata and Sanjay enjoyed a two-year courtship before getting married at the Taj Exotica in Goa in 2007 in a Hindu ceremony. They were both previously married to other people. While their union was initially met with resistance from Sanjay’s family, their relationship is more accepted now.

In an earlier interview, Maanayata revealed that their relationship began on a strong foundation of friendship. They have seen each other through thick and thin. “I’ve known him for nine years. We started seeing each other seriously in 2005. But he knew my past. So when ‘friends’ tried to provoke him he just laughed it off. He knew everything about me. When I was going through hell before my marriage, I’d pick up the phone and ask him for help. We’re both very positive people and we like to live and let live. We both believe in forgiving. And we believe every saint can have a past. And every sinner can have a future,” said Maanayata. According to Bollywood folklore, Maanayata used to be his close friend who cooked his way into his heart.

The two have survived a series of challenging episodes in their lives. From Sanjay’s prison term for his alleged role in the 1993 Bombay serial blasts to his recent health scare — reportedly lung cancer — the couple had to survive quite a few odds.

In a birthday post to Maanayata last year, Sanjay called her his ‘best half’ and not just ‘better half’. He also reminded her in his post that he cannot imagine a life without her. “She is my strength. Whenever I fall down, she supports me. I believe she had suffered more than myself. Raising kids alone and realising each day what she had, I pray that nobody gets to suffer it anywhere,” said Sanjay in an earlier interview.

They are proud parents to twins — a boy Shahraan and a girl Iqraa. Maanayata got pregnant after two years of their marriage.

Sanjay and his wife love to travel and Dubai is one of their regular vacation spots. Last year during the COVID-19 outbreak around the world, Maanayata and her children spent several weeks in the UAE, before heading back to India after Sanjay was diagnosed with a serious health condition. The two put up a brave front during this grim period in their lives and requested their fans to give them privacy as he healed.