Choreographer Dhanashree Verma, former wife of Indian cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal, has spoken candidly about the emotional toll of their divorce proceedings. In a recent conversation on the Humans of Bombay podcast, she revealed that despite mentally preparing herself for the day, she broke down in court and couldn’t hold back her tears.
Verma also addressed a lighter moment from the otherwise difficult phase — Chahal’s choice of attire during one of the hearings. The cricketer had appeared wearing a T-shirt with the words “Be Your Own Sugar Daddy,” which, she admitted, drew unexpected attention amid the tense circumstances.
‘I started howling in front of everybody’
“I still remember when I was standing there and the verdict was about to be given. Even though we were so well-prepared mentally, I got so emotional. I started howling in front of everybody,” she said.
“I couldn’t even express what I was feeling at that point. I just remember that I just kept crying, I was just howling and crying. Of course! All of that happened, and he (Chahal) walked out first,” Dhanashree continued.
‘The T-shirt stunt’
“You know that people are going to blame you. Before I had even known that this T-shirt stunt had happened, we were all aware that people were going to blame me for this,” she commented.
Dhanashree shared that she only saw the clips of Chahal’s T-shirt after stepping out of the courtroom. Reacting with surprise, she joked, “Arre bhai, you could have just sent it to me on WhatsApp — why wear such a T-shirt in court?”
Dhanashree on societal expectations for women
“All that time you spend just flashes, it comes. As a woman humko sikhaya jaata hai ki nibhaao, bhandh ke chalo, karo. (As a woman, we are taught to keep everything settled and manage). Because we know our societies very well, our mothers know our societies very well. You are going to be labelled,” Dhanashree expressed.
