02 September,2026 08:44 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Apara Mehta, Darshan Jariwala (Pics/X)
Apara Mehta is a veteran television, film and theatre actor who has been working in the entertainment industry for over four decades. Best known for her role in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, the actress recently opened up about her painful separation from Darshan Jariwala, recalling how he allegedly told her she was the "ugliest woman" he had ever seen. Darshan has now reacted to her claims, calling them a case of "false memory" and dismissing the allegations.
Reacting to Apara's claims, Darshan said, "There's a neurological phenomenon that, with time, your memory of an event keeps changing. I can say, very generously, that it's a case of false memory. The way it's been narrated, nothing like that happened. I'm not that kind of guy who would even tell, let's say, a plain-looking woman that she's ugly. It would be a very irrelevant remark to make. If I know myself well, I'd talk about how the person is inside, and not really from the outside."
Sharing that Apara Mehta is "absolutely welcome" to "play the victim card", Darshan Jariwala can't fathom the fact that she opened up about their separation 23 years later. "If this is the history, and she's had the opportunity to take this to the media, why now? We can't sit in her mind and judge. I know my truth. My truth is my truth. There's no limit to lies. I can't even gauge her motivation."
"The people who really know me know the entire story really well because my version doesn't change. Truth has no versions," he added.
During a recent interview with Hautterfly, the veteran TV actress recalled how her now ex-husband, Darshan Jariwala, called her on their wedding anniversary and said they needed to separate. She revealed, "So I came back from the USA after doing my shows. I landed at 3 o'clock, reached home by 5, and I had a 7 o'clock shift in the morning. And he just said, âYou know, Apara, we need to separate because I've fallen out of love with you. I do not like you anymore, and you are the ugliest woman I've come across in my life.'"
Darshan Jariwala and Apara Mehta got married in 1982, and the couple has a daughter. Although they have been living separately since 2003, they have never legally divorced.
