Dhanush on Monday announced that he and his filmmaker wife Aishwaryaa Rajinikanth are separating after 18 years of marriage. Dhanush, 38, and Aishwarya, 40, daughter of megastar Rajinikanth, tied the knot in 2004 and are parents to two sons, Yatra and Linga, who were born in 2006 and 2010, respectively. The couple shared a note announcing their separation on their respective social media accounts.

“Eighteen years of togetherness as friends, couple, as parents and well wishers to each other. The journey has been of growth, understanding, adjusting and adapting. Today we stand at a place where our paths separate. Aishwaryaa and I have decided to part ways as a couple and take time to understand us as individuals for the better. Please do Respect our decision and give us the needed privacy to deal with this. Om Namashivaaya! Spread love, D, (sic)” Dhanush shared in a note on Twitter.

Aishwaryaa shared the same note on Instagram and captioned it: “No caption needed.... only your understanding n your love necessary!(sic)”

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Actor Dhanush announced separation from wife Aishwaryaa Rajinikanth, director and daughter of actor Rajinikanth, on Monday night, leaving his fans shocked. He took to social media to share a note that read: “18 years of togetherness as friends, couple, as parents and well-wishers to each other. The journey has been of growth, understanding, adjusting and adapting. Today, we stand at a place where our paths separate. Aishwaryaa and I have decided to part ways as a couple and take time to understand us as individuals for the better. Please do respect our decision and give us the needed privacy to deal with this. Om Namashivaaya! Spread love, D (sic).”

Aishwaryaa, 40, reposted it on Instagram and wrote, “No caption needed… only your understanding n your love necessary (sic).” Their love story began in early 2000s and they tied the knot in 2004. They became parents to sons Yatra and Linga in 2006 and 2010, respectively.

Since there was no buzz around their marriage going through a rough patch, fans are busy speculating what would have gone wrong. In fact, last year, Aishwaryaa shared a photo of Dhanush, 38, on Instagram, when he won the National Film Award for Best Actor for Asuran (2019). In the photo, Dhanush was seen with Rajinikanth, who received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. She captioned it, “They are mine... And this is history #prouddaughter #proudwife (sic).” HTC

Dhanush has been linked to a few female actors in the past. A few unverified reports of him being close to actor Trisha and even her marriage to Varun Manian being called off after Dhanush attended their engagement, did the rounds. Then came rumours of Dhanush seeing actor Shruti Haasan, Aishwaryaa’s childhood friend. The three had worked together in Aishwaryaa’s directorial, 3 (2012).

But, Haasan later addressed this and said, “He (Dhanush) is my best friend in the business. He’s always helped me artistically. I won’t throw that in trash just because people are talking nonsense about us. I’ve never bothered much about what people say.”