Pooja Bedi got engaged to her boyfriend Maneck Contractor on this Valentine’s Day
Debarati Sen (BOMBAY TIMES; February 22, 2019)

Pooja Bedi is excited about entering a new phase in her life. The actress-columnist is all set to get married to her boyfriend, Maneck Contractor. Pooja says that Maneck took her on a hot-air balloon ride on Valentine’s Day, and went down on his knee to pop the question. The couple is planning a wedding later this year, after they align the dates of her daughter’s (Aalia Furniturewalla) shooting schedule and her son’s (Omar Ebrahim) college holidays. In a quick chat with BT, Pooja talks about how she met Maneck, and why she believes in fairy tales even more now. Excerpts…

Let’s go back to the beginning. When and how did you and Maneck first meet?
Actually, Maneck and I have known each other since our boarding-school days. He was three years my senior. Though we weren’t that familiar with each other back then, we’ve always had common friends. Last year, he posted about his new venture in Goa on a chat group, and I went there to review it. That was how we reconnected.

You got divorced (from Farhan Furniturewalla) in 2003. Since then, it has taken you over 15 years to find Mr Right...
Every time you are in a relationship, you hope that this is the one. However, when you meet the person you are destined to be with, you don’t hope, you just know that he is the one. The beauty of our relationship is that it has been effortless in every way. Our families have merged beautifully. He has a wonderful open-hearted, jovial, Parsi family, who welcomed me. My kids, too, adore him. He is extraordinarily kind and cooks up a storm in the kitchen, which is an incredibly sexy quality (laughs!).

You said that your children — Aalia and Omar Ebrahim — adore Maneck. Have they been waiting for you to settle down for a while?
I got divorced on February 14, 2003, and got engaged on February 14, 2019. I have had relationships in between and my kids have liked every person that I have been with. But it is very different with Maneck — they adore him and want him in our lives forever, which is a wonderful feeling as a single parent. They are happy that I am settling down finally. They have wanted this for me for the longest time. It’s a wonderful phase — my son is studying abroad, my daughter is entering films and the empty nest syndrome that a lot of mothers face has been filled beautifully by this relationship and my journey ahead with Maneck.

Tell us about your wedding plans...
Our wedding will take place later this year, when we align dates of Aalia’s shoot and my son’s college holidays.