4 min readNew DelhiJun 21, 2026 01:59 PM IST
First published on: Jun 21, 2026 at 01:59 PM IST
In a rare interview on CNN International’s Talk Asia, industrialist Ratan Tata once opened up about a personal side of life rarely shared — his experiences with love. The philanthropist, who never married, revealed that he had fallen in love “seriously four times” and had come close to marriage on multiple occasions.
“You know, the one probably the most serious, was when I was working in the US. And the only reason we didn’t get married was that I came back to India, and she was to follow me, and that was the year of the Indo-Chinese conflict. In true American fashion, this conflict in the Himalayas, in the snowy uninhabited part of the Himalayas, was seen in the United States as a major war between India and China,” he recalled.
One of the most poignant stories that Tata shared in this interview was from his post-college days in Los Angeles. He had planned to marry an American woman, but he came back to India to care for his ailing grandmother. The complications following the 1962 Indo-China war meant the relationship couldn’t continue. Despite all these near-marriages, Tata remained unmarried throughout his life, balancing the freedom and the loneliness that came with his choices.
Ratan Tata (Image: Express Archive)
How do breakups affect people?
Dr Pooja Verma, Consultant, Clinical Psychology, explains that falling in love multiple times is natural. “Love changes as we grow. Our emotional maturity, past experiences, and the way we bond with others influence how we love. Each relationship teaches us more about ourselves and what we value,” Dr Verma says.
When relationships end due to circumstances beyond one’s control, like in Tata’s case, the emotional impact can be significant. “For most people, it feels like losing not just a person, but the future they had imagined together. Thoughts like ‘What if the situation had been different?’ often linger, making it difficult to move on,” Dr Verma notes.
Such separations can leave emotions unresolved. Without conflict or closure, the bond may remain strong, creating an inner conflict — part of a person wants to hold on, while another part knows it’s time to let go. This can manifest as fatigue, poor sleep, low energy, or hesitation to trust in future relationships. “When a relationship ends for reasons beyond one’s control, the mind usually holds on to the good memories more than the painful ones. Nostalgia preserves the warmth, shared dreams, and sense of emotional safety,” Dr Verma adds.
Do people move on?
Remembering a past relationship fondly, as Tata did in the interview, does not necessarily mean a person is still in love. According to Dr Verma, nostalgia is the mind’s way of preserving those memories. “The relationship becomes a memory of ‘what could have been,’ not something the person actually wants to return to.”
People can remember old relationships with warmth and still accept that it is part of the past. “It usually shows emotional maturity and healing, not an inability to move on. People can cherish the memories while still embracing new relationships or life paths.”
DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to.
Ratan Tata once revealed that he fell in love four times and was even about to marry once (Image: Express Archive) 
Ratan Tata (Image: Express Archive)
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