Actor Shivam Sharma is heartbroken by the news of his former girlfriend Vaishali Takkar’s alleged suicide.

“I was boarding my flight for my home in Delhi, where I was coming for Diwali celebrations, when I got the news of her death. I was shocked by it,” says Sharma, who dated her from 2013 till 2015.

But, he admits that, in hindsight, he saw something was bothering her sometime back: “I am still unable to believe it. My birthday was in June, and that was the time when I met her last. She came to my birthday. I sensed a sadness on her face, her smile was different. I asked her about it, and she shrugged it off by saying she is not well. Now, I have realised that she was lying. It was not about her health, but what she was going through in her personal life.”

Last week, Takkar was found hanging in her house in Indore, Madhya Pradesh with a note naming her neighbour Rahul Navlani for harassing her. Navlani has been arrested since then.

Ask him if he knew about Navlani, Sharma reveals, “Around one year back, she told me about the guy in her life, Rahul. We didn’t interfere in each other’s personal life, but I never anticipated her struggle.” 

He opens up about the harassment she was undergoing, saying, “Apart from Rahul, his wife was also harassing her.”

Tinged with regret, Sharma goes on, “We all are getting to know of her struggle through her chats that have emerged now.”