Payal Rohatgi and Sangram Singh ‘lock Agra’ as wedding venue; wrestler recalls their first meet on a highway in 2011

Sangram Singh, wrestler and fiance of actor Payal Rohatgi, said the two will marry in Agra in July. In a new interview, he also took a trip down memory lane and revealed how they met for the first time on a highway near Agra in 2011. Though they exchanged numbers then, they never contacted each other; it was only towards the end of the reality show, Survivor India (2012), that they started talking. (Also Read | Sangram Singh says his mom would bring a ‘prospective bride’s family at home’ every Sunday)

Payal and Sangram got engaged in 2014, and have been together for 12 years. The couple will marry on July 9 in an intimate ceremony. Sangram wants to tie the knot at a temple in the city, and the couple plans to host a reception party in Mumbai, as per the report.

In an interview with Times Of India, Sangram said, “We were planning to host our wedding in Rajasthan or Payal’s hometown, Ahmedabad. However, we have locked Agra as the venue. It’s convenient for everyone, including my family in my hometown, Rohtak (Haryana). They will take around four hours to reach the destination.”

Recalling their first meet, Sangram said, “I was returning from a kushti (wrestling) and Payal from a shoot in Agra. Her car broke down on a highway near the city. We stopped our car and gave her a lift. I still remember that I was covered in mitti (mud) because of the fight and Payal said, ‘Gaadi toh badi saaf hai (Your car is quite clean)’ and I replied, ‘Aaj toh aur dinon se tab bhi zyada saaf hai (It’s cleaner than on other days)’ (laughs). We exchanged phone numbers but never called each other. It was only towards the end of the reality show, Survivor India (2012), that we got talking. And now, we are going to be man and wife.”

Payal was last seen in the reality show Lock Upp, where she was one of the finalists. The show was won by comedian Munawar Faruqui, after he received more than 18 lakh votes. Lock Upp, produced by Ekta Kapoor, was hosted by actor Kangana Ranaut. Apart from Payal and Munawar, Poonam Pandey, Kaaranvir Bohra, Ali Merchant, Zeeshan Khan, Mandana Karimi, Nisha Rawal, Sara Khan, Babita Phogat, Swami Chakrapani, Tehseen Poonawalla, Siddhartha Sharma, Prince Narula, and Chetan Hansraj were also a part of the show.