Samantha on being called ‘second hand’ after divorce, repurposing wedding gown

Actor Samantha recently opened up about coping with being called ‘second hand’ and ‘used’ after her divorce with Naga Chaitanya. In an interview with Galatta India, the actor spoke about how there’s a lot of shame and stigma attached to divorce, especially for a woman. She recalled how she understood her new reality and the decision to repurpose her wedding gown. Samantha and Naga Chaitanya announced their separation, days ahead of their fifth wedding anniversary.
The Citadel actor said, “When a woman goes through a divorce, there’s a lot of shame and stigma attached. I get a lot of comments saying ‘second hand, ‘used’, and ‘wasted life’. You’re pushed into a corner where you are supposed to feel like you’re a failure that you were once married and now you’re not. And I do believe, it can be really hard for families and girls who’ve gone through.”
Explaining why she redesigned her wedding gown, she stated, “The reason why I repurposed my wedding gown was that – initially, it really hurt. I decided to flip it. I decided to own it. I am separated, I’m divorced. Things haven’t been a fairytale. But, that does not mean I sit in a corner, cry about it and never ever have the courage to live again. It wasn’t any kind of revenge or anything. It really wasn’t a ginormous gesture. It was that – yes it has happened. I know it and I can’t hide from it. This doesn’t mean my life ends there. It begins where it ends.”
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Samantha said that she has healed and in a happy space now. “I’m very happy right now. I’ve grown so much, and I am doing incredible work, and I’m looking forward to the next stage in my life,” she remarked.
The actor also remembered how she was tempted to call out the lies and misinformation that was spread during her divorce. “Many things were said about me that were absolutely untrue. There were many times that I was so tempted to say ‘this is not true, let me tell you the truth’. But, what held me back – when things were crappy and absolute lies being spread – I remember having this conversation with myself. ‘Okay, you’re tempted to come out with your side of the story. What do you gain from it? You gain a bunch of people who are so fickle. You tell your story, and they love you for a minute and three days later, if you do something stupid, they’ll go back to hating you. I wanted to resist that. Can you not live with the fact that your friends and family know the truth?’ I wanted to fight the urge to be validated by people. All my life, I wanted to be loved and validated. I decided to flip it,” she concluded.
On the work front, Samantha was last seen in Prime Video’s Citadel: Honey Bunny. The actor is presently shooting for her upcoming Telugu film, details of which will be announced soon.