Ritesh Singh admits Rakhi Sawant is not legally his wife, reveals he is still married to Snigdha Priya

After keeping his identity a secret for two-and-a-half years, Rakhi Sawant’s ‘husband’ Ritesh Singh finally revealed himself to the public when he entered Bigg Boss 15 as a contestant. However, the mystery surrounding him was far from being solved; in fact, it deepened as his first wife Snigdha Priya levelled allegations of domestic violence against him and claimed that he was lying about being an NRI.

Post his eviction from Bigg Boss 15 on Sunday, Ritesh spoke to Hindustan Times about his marriage with Rakhi, Snigdha’s claims and more.

Ritesh said that he is ‘definitely not happy’ about his exit from Bigg Boss 15 because he expected to be a part of the show for some more time at least. He added that he was beginning to understand the game and form bonds with the other contestants. He described his journey on the show as ‘wonderful’.

Explaining why he did not come forward for more than two years after marrying Rakhi, Ritesh said that it is not like he wanted to hide earlier. “Basically, mera zyadatar maanna tha ki yeh bohot personal hai (I mostly felt that this was personal),” he said.

“Mere previous wife ne jo allegations lagaya tha, mujhe pata tha ki yeh sab hai. Toh mujhe tha ki yeh sab clear up ho jaaye toh ek formal marriage hum log achchi tarah se karein. Bohot saare thoughts the, Rakhi ka bhi career tha, mere bhi bohot saare projects chal rahe the (I knew about the allegations of my previous wife and I wanted these things to get sorted out, so Rakhi and I could have a formal marriage. Plus, Rakhi had her career and I also had a lot of ongoing projects),” he added.

Ritesh said that he and Rakhi plan to have a formal marriage ceremony and invite all her industry colleagues.

On being asked if he and Snigdha are divorced, Ritesh claimed that she is not willing to sign the divorce papers. “Woh do baar mere yahaan se bhaag chuki hai jiske saath bhi, bhaagne ke baad mera usse koi contact nahi tha, maine divorce file kar liya hai halanki yeh divorce papers pe sign nahi kar rahi hai (She has eloped twice from our home with someone else and I have not been in contact with her since. I filed for divorce but she is not signing the papers),” he said.

Ritesh questioned Snigdha’s claims that he is a ‘brutal husband’ who beats her up for hours at a stretch. “Bigg Boss ki journey agar aap logon ne dekhi hogi toh shayad aapne dekha hoga. Aisa mera dual personality toh hai nahi, yeh spam phaila rahi hai. Waise husband ke saath aap kyun rehna chahengi itne din tak? Koi bhi samajhdaar ladki ek din bhi na rahe (If you have watched my journey on Bigg Boss, you would know what I am like. It is not like I have a dual personality, she is defaming me. Who would want to stay with such a husband for so long? Any intelligent woman would leave in a day),” he said. He also said that he will call for a press conference soon and reveal how she ‘extorted’ huge sums from him.

“Mere bohot financial losses hue hai (I suffered huge financial losses). Who will recover my losses? Maine kya galti ki hai? Aap bina soche samjhe kisiko spam kar doge, negative thought bana doge (What wrong have I done? If you portray someone in a negative light), that is not right,” he said.

Ritesh admitted that since his divorce from Snigdha is yet to come through, Rakhi is not legally his wife. “Hum logon ne ishwar ko sakshi maan ke ek doosre ko pati patni sweekar kiya hai. Kahin hum logon ne court marriage abhi ki nahi hai (With God as our witness, we accepted each other as husband and wife. We have not had a court marriage yet),” he said.

Also see | Bigg Boss 15: Rakhi Sawant cries and says ‘do not run away to Canada’ as husband Ritesh gets evicted

Ritesh said that he is waiting for Snigdha to sign the divorce papers. “Yeh de nahi rahi, halanki yeh apni life mein bohot khush hai. Jiske saath rehna hai, reh rahi hai. Bachcha bhi iske paas hai, paise bhi iske paas hai. Somehow, iski life toh settled hai. Meri life isne jaan bujh ke barbaad karke rakhi hai taaki yeh na kahin jaa sake aur kuch kar bhi na sake (She is not giving me a divorce, even though she is happy in her own life. She is living with the person she wants to, she has the child and money too. Her life is settled. She has ruined my life so that I have nowhere to go),” he said.

Calling it ‘love at first sight’ with Rakhi, Ritesh said, “Ishwar ko sakshi maan ke hi usko apnaya hoon. Legal terms mein, main definitely yeh divorce ka wait kar raha hoon, jaise hi hoga, main formal marriage karunga Rakhi ke saath (With God as our witness, I accepted her as my wife. In legal terms, I am waiting for the divorce. As soon as it comes through, I will formally marry Rakhi).”