- Pooja Bedi has been engaged to Maneck Contractor for eight years without plans to marry
- She believes engagement commitment is enough without signing a legal marriage contract
- Pooja says remaining unmarried simplifies financial matters and asset distribution
Pooja Bedi's take on relationships and marriage has evolved a lot over the years. The actress has revealed that she has no plans to get married to her fiancee, Maneck Contractor, despite 8 years of engagement.
During a conversation with Vickey Lalwani, Pooja revealed that although she once believed in the traditional idea of a lifelong marriage, her experiences have changed how she views the institution now. “Today I'm in a relationship with Maneck, and I've been engaged for eight years. And people ask, 'When are you getting married?, very excitedly.' And I say, I'm not getting married,” she said.
Explaining her decision, Pooja shared, “Engagement is when a person puts a ring on your finger and says, 'I want to be married to you.'" Which basically says, I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side, as a companion, as your lover, as your husband, and as a father of your children. The commitment is enough. After the commitment is there, all you're really doing is signing a piece of paper and getting the government involved in your affair.”
According to the Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar actress, her decision to remain unmarried also helps to keep their financial affairs simpler. “It is so much easier. I've been married, I've been divorced, and I have two children. He's been married, he's been divorced, and he has kids too. In terms of simple things, like in terms of your assets, it's so simple.
“My assets go to my kids; his assets go to his kids. I'm earning, he's earning, and we're both independent. I don't need him for security's sake. He doesn't need me for financial security,” she explained.
About her engagement, Pooja continued, “The intention was to get married, and the reality of what marriage actually looks like to us. It didn't fit our vision for what we want in life, in terms of everything.
“I don't want to be contracted to somebody. I've been there, done that. I believe everyone should be married. I think marriage is a wonderful space, and it's just that I've been there, done that. I don't see the need to do that.”
She further added that she and Maneck are together because they want to be together and not because they are bound under law to be together. “Our families love each other; my kids love him. I love his family. So for me, we are as good as together forever,” she shared.
Pooja and Maneck have been in a committed relationship for years before getting engaged in 2019. Pooja was previously married to Farhan Furniturewala, but the two got divorced in 2003. Pooja and Farhan share two children together, Alaya F and Omar Furniturewalla.
