‘I never found a man worthy of marriage’; Zeba Bakhtiar opens up about her life and career

Former actress Zeba Bakhtiar has broken her silence on not getting married for the third time, saying that she has not found a person she considers worthy of marriage.

In an interview with Dawn Icon magazine, Zeba Bakhtiar shared insights about her showbiz career, past marriages, raising her son, and health challenges.

Reflecting on her time working in India, she revealed, "When I went to India to work, the Pakistani media and journalists propagated against me. News was spread that I would act in films there and shoot objectionable scenes."

Zeba Bakhtiar also admitted that she never planned to remain in showbiz long-term, saying, "I never thought I would continue acting forever, but once I entered showbiz, I planned to keep working."

For the first time, she disclosed that she was diagnosed with diabetes after the release of her first Bollywood film, Hina. "No one in my family had diabetes, so when I was diagnosed, I was very worried," she said.

Discussing societal expectations in Pakistan, she remarked, "There is a perception that heroines do not get married or have children. They are heroines only as long as they are unmarried."

She added, "I have seen many successful film heroines whose careers ended without marriage."

Talking about her past marriage to singer and actor Adnan Sami Khan, she shared, "We were friends. I did not expect that there would be problems between us after marriage."

She revealed that their marriage lasted only a year. "Right after marriage, my son Azan Sami Khan was born. After the divorce, I also fought a legal battle for his maintenance," she stated.

Zeba Bakhtiar emphasised that she never gave up her career, saying, "Even after the birth of my son, I did not leave showbiz and continued to work behind the camera."

When asked about remarriage, she clarified, "I will no longer say that I did not remarry for the sake of my son." She explained, "The truth is that if I had found a good man worthy of marriage, I would have gotten married—but I never got such an opportunity."

Earlier, in a July 2024 interview with Amna Haider Isani, she disclosed that her marriage to Adnan Sami Khan was her second. "My first marriage happened 19 years ago before I entered showbiz," she had said.

She further stated, "My first marriage also ended in divorce after a year. After that, I entered showbiz and soon married singer Adnan Sami Khan for the second time, but that marriage also ended in divorce."