When Naga Chaitanya shared Nagarjuna’s first reaction to him dating Samantha Akkineni: ‘You’re telling me this now…’

Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Akkineni initially hid their romance from the prying eyes of the media. It was in 2016 that Chaitanya first made his relationship with Samantha public and also revealed how his father, Nagarjuna Akkineni, reacted when he was told about it.

On Saturday, Samantha confirmed her separation from Chaitanya in an Instagram post. She said that they will always share a ‘special bond’ and announced their decision to ‘pursue (their) own paths’.

Speaking with The New Indian Express in 2016, Chaitanya said that Nagarjuna already had an inkling about his relationship with Samantha. “The first person that I told was my father. The minute he heard the news, he looked at me and said, ‘You’re telling me this now but I’ve known all along’. Our families have been very supportive and everyone is happy.”

Chaitanya also talked about why he and Samantha kept their romance under wraps at first. “I’m a private person which is why I never felt the need to speak about this in public. My friends have known about it for a long time. Then we told our families and next year, we plan to get married,” he said.

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In her Instagram post on Saturday, Samantha wrote, “To all our well wishers. After much deliberation and thought Chay and I have decided to part ways as husband and wife to pursue our own paths. We are fortunate to have a friendship of over a decade that was the very core of our relationship which we believe will always hold a special bond between us. We request our fans, well wishers and the media to support us during this difficult time and give us the privacy we need to move on. Thanking you for your support.”

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Rumours of a rift between Chaitanya and Samantha first started when she dropped her surname from her social media accounts and changed her name to ‘S’. Last month, she was asked about it during a visit to the Tirumala temple, and she scolded the reporter. She recently also shut down speculation that she is shifting base to Mumbai.

Also read: Samantha Akkineni, Naga Chaitanya confirm separation, share note about ‘difficult time’

Chaitanya and Samantha were one of Tollywood’s most-loved couples and have acted together in films such as Ye Maaya Chesave, Autonagar Surya and Majili.

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