Esha Deol recalls her first reaction after Hema Malini told her about Dharmendra's first marriage

Esha Deol, Dharmendra, Hema Malini Pic/AFP

Bollywood actress Esha Deol, who was in the news for her separation from Bharat Takhtani after 11 years of marriage, recently opened up on the family dynamics at home given that her father and veteran actor Dharmendra was previously married and how she handled the information very maturely at a tender age.

Esha Deol's reaction to dad Dharmendra's first marriage

In Hema Malini's biography ‘Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl' by Ram Kamal Mukherjee, Esha Deol recalled that when she was in the fourth grade, a classmate asked her "You have two moms, right?", to which she snapped back saying, "What rubbish! I have only one mother."

She elaborated, "The moment I reached home, I told my mom that a friend was asking me this question. I think it was at that point of time that my mom decided to tell me the truth. Imagine, we were in the fourth standard and had no idea about anything Nowadays kids are much smarter. So, that was when I understood that my mother had married someone who was already married to another lady and that they also had a family. But frankly speaking, I never felt bad about it. Till today, I don't think there is anything wrong with it. And I give full credit to my parents for not making us ever feel uncomfortable."

Dharmendra would never stay back

Esha further revealed that although Dharmendra would share a meal with them every day without fail, he'd never stay back. "When I was younger, I used to go to my friends' houses where I would see both parents being around. That's when I realized that it's normal to have dads around too. But somehow, we were groomed in a way that it didn't affect me much. I was very content with my mother and I loved my father," she added.

About Dharmendra and Hema Malini's relationship

Dharmendra and Hema Malini got married in 1980 and have two daughters-Esha Deol and Ahana Deol. Hema is the second wife of the veteran actor. Dharmendra also has two sons Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol and two daughters with his first wife Prakash Kaur. Dharmendra and Hema Malini first met in 1970, while shooting for the film ‘Tum Haseen Main Jawan'. The two played the lead roles in the film. Over the years, the two fell in love even though Dharmendra was a married man with four kids. They eventually tied the knot.