Arjun Kapoor reflects on loneliness, self-care after breakup with Malaika Arora

Arjun Kapoor opened up about dealing with loneliness after his breakup with Malaika Arora and his mother's death. He reflected on life challenges, self-care, and shared life advice.

In Short

• Arjun Kapoor discusses coping with loneliness
• He advises self-care and not projecting issues onto relationships
• Arjun emphasises not linking past and present struggles

Actor Arjun Kapoor, who recently confirmed his breakup with Malaika Arora and announced he is "single," opened up about coping with loneliness in a recent interview. The 39-year-old actor declined to go into specifics about his past relationship but spoke candidly about dealing with emotional struggles, especially after the death of his mother, Mona Shourie Kapoor, in March 2012.

When asked if he felt a similar sense of loneliness after his breakup as he did following his mother's death, Arjun told The Hollywood Reporter India, "It’s very tricky to speak about it and know, because I think I’ve got to respect the way things have been."

He continued, "I don’t like to go into details for that reason, but I will never ever crisscross the two things. I think what my issues in the beginning part of my life are not correlated to where I am today."

Reflecting on the years following his mother’s death, Arjun said that while he was professionally successful, he struggled personally. He noted that in 2014, when he was dealing with his mother's loss and his sister was living in Delhi, the house felt empty. This was also when he was becoming a star, gaining attention for his work but not for his personal life.

“I think that was 2014, and I was dealing with my mom’s loss, and my sister was in Delhi, so the house was empty. This was also the time I was becoming a star and was getting all the attention, but not the attention I wanted in my personal life. Then, my personal life became balanced, irrespective of how work went. I think today, like I say this, I needed to just take care of myself,” said Arjun.

He went on to say, "Being selfish is looked at slightly in the wrong way, but I guess it’s not selfish. It’s just I was not okay because of other things—it was not the loneliness or me being alone; it was just a lot that’s happened in my life.”

The actor, who has received praise for his performance in Singham Again, also shared some life advice, saying, "Relationships fulfill you but if you’re not okay, you need to figure that out. You can’t project that on a relationship or other people. It’s every day (that) you figure stuff out. I always say that every day you wake up, you need to note the new things you need to work on—whether you are in a relationship or otherwise."

Arjun recently attended a Diwali bash in Mumbai, where, when he took the microphone, people around him began screaming Malaika's name. Arjun humorously told the crowd, "Abhi single hoon main, relax" ("I'm single now, relax").

Arjun and Malaika began dating in 2018 and, according to reports, parted ways amicably after several years together.