Ira Khan, Aamir Khan’s daughter, has been open about her mental health journey and her efforts to raise awareness around depression, founding a mental health support organization. In a recent candid conversation with Pinkvilla, Ira discussed her parents’ divorce and how it impacted her.
Initially, Ira believed that her parents’ separation, which occurred when she was a child, didn’t affect her. She recalled how her parents, Aamir Khan and Reena Dutta, shielded their children from any conflict, always maintaining a united front despite their separation. “They never fought around us and always presented a united front,” Ira shared. “I was like, no, this divorce cannot be something that is affecting me in a negative manner.”
However, as she grew older, Ira realized that while the separation might have been for the better, it still marked the end of something significant. “I grew up and I realized that something broke, a relationship ended,” she said. “Maybe it ended for the better, but still something got ended, right? So, there is a certain amount of pain that comes with anything breaking, anything ending, which I refused to look at consciously as a kid.”
Ira admitted that, as a child, she didn’t acknowledge the pain that came with her parents’ divorce, but through therapy, she came to understand the importance of recognizing her emotions. “I’ve since discussed this with my therapist, and I’ve learned that while there’s no need to blame anyone, it’s important to acknowledge what happened,” she explained.
Despite the challenges, Ira credited her parents for ensuring she and her sibling felt secure and loved throughout the process. “My parents did a great job in making us feel safe and secure that even though they are separating, we will still be loved equally and the family will still be a family,” she said.
Aamir Khan and Reena Dutta married in 1986 and separated in 2002 after 16 years of marriage. Ira, born in 1997, is the younger of their two children. In January 2024, she married fitness coach Nupur Shikhare.
