Shilpa Shirodkar says husband ‘left rising career’ in UK, set aside ‘male ego’ to return to India for her after her parents died: ‘We left everything’

Shilpa added: “I’ll always give him that credit. People say behind every successful man, there is a woman. But I always tell him, behind every successful woman, there is a loving and wonderful man who sets aside his male ego and walks beside her.” In the same interview, Shilpa also spoke about how she landed the opportunity to be on Bigg Boss, which gave her another moment in the limelight. “I had just turned 50 in 2023. My husband asked me, ‘What do you want for your 50th birthday?’ We had moved to London from Dubai after COVID, and I told him, ‘I don’t want to live in this country — I feel very lonely. I want to go back home.’”

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She recalled the turning point in her decision: “He asked me what I would do by going back. I told him, ‘If I stay here, I’ll go crazy.’ His job involves a lot of travel, and Anushka (our daughter) was in Scotland. It was very lonely. And as you get older, you need people, people to talk to, to listen to. I told him Anushka had gotten an internship in Hyderabad, so I decided to go with her on a one-way ticket and try my luck. I told myself I’d call everyone in the industry and ask for work.”

However, things didn’t go as planned, initially. “I called a lot of people. They picked up my calls, but they didn’t have the time to meet because I had nothing to offer them. I was disappointed and told my husband that nothing was working out, and I booked a return ticket for September 28.” But just as she was about to give up, opportunity knocked. “The moment I booked the return ticket, I got a call from Bigg Boss, asking if I’d be interested. And I said yes. I’ve always liked Bigg Boss, it was like a dream come true. And secondly, I was getting work!”

“I told my husband, and he said, ‘Don’t cancel your ticket until you sign the contract.’ I agreed. Then the talks started happening, and I told the team, ‘Let me know for sure, only then I’ll cancel my ticket.’ And they immediately said, ‘Yes, of course you’re doing it.’” Shilpa emerged as a strong presence on Bigg Boss 18, making it all the way to the top six finalists. However, her journey came to an end just four days before the grand finale, when she was evicted from the show.