4 minutes of readingChennaiFebruary 3, 2026 11:35 am IST
before getting married Shabana Azmiwriter Javed Akhtar was married to writer and actress Honey Irani.. However, their marriage did not last and the two separated due to Akhtar’s excessive alcohol consumption and differences in their relationship. In a recent interaction, Honey Irani opened up about her past relationship, how she met Javed Akhtar and why their marriage lasted only 13 years.
Javed proposed during a card game: Honey Irani
Talking about how she met Javed, Honey told Vickey Lalwani, “I met Javed during the shooting of Seeta Aur Geeta. He came to me to give me my lines. The first thing I noticed about him was his sense of humour. Also, anyone could talk to him on any topic, he was very knowledgeable. That was something that was very attractive.” Honey played a supporting character in Ramesh Sippy’s Seeta Aur Geeta, which was written by Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan.
Revealing how Javed proposed to her in his unique style, she said, “He proposed to her first. We liked each other and we also used to meet off the sets. Once, he was playing cards and was losing, but he asked me to draw a card and when I pulled that card, he won, and then he said, ‘Chalo, you are very lucky for me. Let’s get married’. So he proposed to me and we got married. This was after 6-7 months of dating.”
‘Success changed Javed, his drinking was a major problem’
Talking about why their marriage didn’t last, she said: “I don’t know why it didn’t work out. Everything was moving too fast. The success they were getting was very fast and with success things change, the man changes too and so does his environment. I guess maybe I couldn’t handle that. His drinking was a major problem. Then he met a lot of people, went out in the evenings and those things increased a lot in between. We were both mature enough to understand that this wasn’t working. He had tried to stop drinking many times.”
She added: “We both made the decision to separate because it wasn’t working. So instead of fighting and tearing each other apart, the most sensible thing we did was separate. I was too young and immature too, so I don’t blame Javed entirely. We got into this very quickly. We should have waited, maybe we wouldn’t have gotten married.”
ALSO READ: Madhavan stopped acting for 4 years after feeling humiliated by Swiss farmer
‘It took me a while to get used to Shabana’
When asked how one can forgive an ex and develop a friendship after separation, something she shares with Akhtar and her son Farhan Akhtar shares with his ex-wife Adhuna Bhabani, she said: “Once you have separated, what is the problem? So why are you angry and why are you crying?”
Story continues below this ad.
She admitted that while she got along well with Javed after their separation, it took her time to warm up to his second wife, Shabana Azmi. “With Javed after the separation, things got better in 3-4 years, but he was always supportive of the kids and me. But with Shabana, it took a little time. We both did our best and now we are good friends. We go to each other’s birthday parties, we travel together.”