Bollywood Fairytales: Rejections, inter-faith marriage to 3 children, Shah Rukh Khan-Gauri Khan's love story stood the test of time

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Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan rank in the list of Bollywood's most favourite couples. Their love story is nothing less than a fairytale with its shares of highs and lows and of course, a happy ending. Shah Rukh and Gauri's fairytale began at a tender age when he was 18 years old whereas she was merely 14.

Back in Delhi, Shah Rukh fell for Gauri and their first date was reportedly at Panchshila Club. According to Anupama Chopra's King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema, the star couple's meeting barely lasted for 5 minutes and they were sitting by the pool, sipping colas. After he got her contact number, the challenge was to keep their relationship a secret from their families.

The route to their wedding wasn't free of obstacles. On Koffee With Karan, Gauri made the confession that she wanted to take a break from the relationship. She said because of Shah Rukh's possessiveness she ended the relationship temporarily. "I thought maybe it's too young for us to decide anything to get married. So, I just took a short break. He was too possessive for me and I could not handle that," Gauri shared. She further added that after a while, she went back to him.

According to reports, Gauri left for Mumbai after breaking up with Shah Rukh. He was head over heels in love with her and hence, he took Rs 10,000 from his mother and went to look for Gauri. Shah Rukh looked out for Gauri on various beaches in Mumbai and found her at one. When he proposed to her for marriage, she rejected him again. As they say, true love always wins. After having their shares of highs and lows, Shah Rukh and Gauri tied the knot on October 25, 1991. Reports claim that Shah Rukh borrowed a suit from the costume department of Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman for his wedding.

For the Arya Samaj wedding, Shah Rukh changed his name to Jeetender Kumar Tulli which was a tribute to Jeetendra and Rajendra Kumar. Tulli was Rajendra Kumar's real surname. Gauri's parents weren't in favour of the marriage due to differences in their religion. "Yes, my parents were obviously not for it because we were so young and then, to take a decision to get married to a person who was going to join films and also from a different religion," she said in a previous interview.

Shah Rukh, who was working in TV shows in the '90s, shift his base to Mumbai permanently after the demise of his mother. However, Gauri wasn't supportive of his decision and wanted to settle in Delhi itself. Kara Johar said in a statement to Vogue, "She prayed for Shah Rukh's film to fail so that they could move back to Delhi." Gauri then said, "I had no patience for films. It was only after I met Shah Rukh that I learnt to enjoy his passion for cinema." Her views changed over the years and she became Shah Rukh's biggest pillar of support. She turned producer on several projects in which he was the lead. Gauri backed films like Main Hoon Na (2004), Om Shanti Om (2007), Dear Zindagi (2016) and the recently released film, Jawan, among several others.

Their family expanded with the arrival of Aryan Khan on November 13, 1997. He is now an aspiring director and is working on his debut directorial series, titled Stardom. Aryan also launched his own luxury streetwear brand named D'Yavol X. Shah Rukh and Gauri were blessed with a daughter, Suhana Khan, on May 22, 2000. She will be debuting as an actress in Zoya Akhtar's Netflix film, The Archies. Shah Rukh and Gauri's youngest child, AbRam Khan, was born via surrogacy on May 27, 2013.

Talking about the religion that's followed at home, Shah Rukh once shared, "Humne koi Hindu-Musalman ki baat hi nahi ki. Meri biwi Hindu hai, main Musalman hoon. Aur mere jo bacche hain, wo Hindustani hain. Jab wo school gae to school me wo bharna padta hai ki religion kya hai. To jab meri beti choti thi, usne aa ke pucha bhi mujhse ek baar, ‘papa hum kaun se religion ke hain?' Maine usme ye likha ki hum Indian hi hain yaar, koi religion nahi hai. Aur hona bhi nahi chahiye."

During the India Today Conclave 2023, Suhana spoke about her parents and said, "My biggest source of guidance are my parents and actually, my entire family. I feel like we all chip in and help each other out... I ask Mom 'Was that okay? Is my hair okay? Is my outfit okay?'"

Aren't they an inspiration to every couple?