While the Samantha-Naga Chaitanya split announcement came as a shock to many fans, all ears were turned to the close family of the former couple for the reasons behind the step. Speaking about the separation, actress Samantha’s father-in-law and Naga Chaitanya’s father Nagarjuna said that the incident was “very unfortunate” but that the family will “always cherish” the times they had with her.
South star and actor Nagarjuna’s reaction to the split came hours after the duo made the announcement on their respective social media handles on Saturday. Rumours of a probable divorce were doing the rounds for quite some time, triggered after the ‘Family Man-2′ fame actress changed her name from her Instagram account. While she earlier carried ‘Samantha Akkineni’ (the last name owing to her in-laws), she changed it to just ‘S’. Her profile now boasts her full first name only.
Expressing his disappointment over the split, Nagarjuna tweeted saying, “With a heavy heart, let me say this – whatever happened between Sam and Chay is very unfortunate. What happens between a wife and husband is very personal. Sam and Chay, both are dear to me. My family will always cherish the moments spent with Sam and she will always be dear to us. May God bless them both with strength.”
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Nagarjuna has two sons- Naga Chaitanya from his marriage with Lakshmi Daggubati and Akhil after marrying actress Amala in 1992 following his divorce with first wife in 1990.
Naga Chaitanya and Samantha had dated for nearly 10 years and married for more than 4 years before they took the step. They had got their wedding vows and the traditional Telugu marriage as Samantha is Christian and Chaitanya is a Hindu.
The actress often avoided commenting over her personal life when reporters approached her. In a video where she is seen going to a temple, Samantha can be heard scolding the reporter when he asks him about her rumoured split with her husband.
The formal announcement came yesterday as both of them shared similar statements on Instagram. While Samantha switched off her comments section the moment she posted it, Chaitanya had not, leading to a massive number of comments from shocked fans.
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Chaitanya’s statement read, “To all our well-wishers. After much deliberation and thought Sam and I have decided to part ways as husband and wife to pursue our own paths. We are fortunate to have a friendship of over a decade that was the very core of our relationship which we believe will always hold a special bond between us. We request our fans, well-wishers and the media to support us during the difficult time and give us the privacy we need to move on. Thanking you for your support.”
Samantha Ruth Prabhu marked her acting debut with Ye Maaya Chesave, a Tollywood movie with Naga Chaitanya in the lead role opposite her. Since then, they have worked together in many films. Chaitanya is going to feature in a movie with Aamir Khan soon, as per his Instagram post.
