Last year, actor Samantha opened up about being viewed as “second hand” following her divorce from actor Naga Chaitanya in 2021. Now, the latter has also come out to address the scrutiny he received after the split.

“We wanted to go our own ways. For our own reasons, we had taken this decision and we respect each other. What more explanation is needed? I don’t understand. I’m hoping the audience and the media will respect that. We have asked for privacy. But, unfortunately, it has become another headline. It became a topic of gossip. It became entertainment,” said Chaitanya on the Raw Talks With VK podcast.

Talking about moving on, with Chaitanya getting married to actor Sobhita Dhulipala in December 2024, the 38-year-old said, “We both have moved on with grace. I have found love again. [But] It’s not like it’s only happening in my life, so why am I treated like a criminal?”

The actor also added that the divorce was never a trivial matter for him. “It was a conscious decision [taken] after much thought. I’m saying this because it’s a very sensitive topic for me. I’m a child of a broken family, so I know what the experience is like. I will think 1,000 times before breaking a relationship because I know the repercussions.”

Meanwhile, Chay and Sobhita met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Parliament House on Friday. They were accompanied by Chay’s father, actor Nagarjuna and his wife, actor Amala Akkineni. The family presented the PM with the book Akkineni Ka Virat Vyaktitva by Padma Bhushan awardee Dr Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad, a tribute to Nagarjuna’s father Akkineni. Sobhita also presented the PM with kondapalli bommalu (dancing dolls), native to Andhra Pradesh.