Dhanashree Verma reacts to ex husband Yuzvendra Chahal’s viral ‘sugar daddy tshirt’: ‘I was like ITS OVER’

The end of a marriage is never easy, and when it happens in the public eye, every emotion is magnified. Earlier this year, cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal and choreographer–actor Dhanashree Verma went their separate ways after five years together. For the first time since the split, Dhanashree has chosen to speak about what unfolded on the day their divorce was finalized.

She didn’t sugarcoat it. For her, the courtroom experience was heartbreaking. “I genuinely feel that the day it actually happened, it was very emotional for me and my family… I literally started howling and crying in front of everybody. I cannot even express what I was feeling at that point of time,” Dhanashree said.

While she was struggling with overwhelming emotions inside, something very different was happening outside. Chahal stepped out of the court wearing a T-shirt that read “Be your own sugar daddy”, instantly turning the private pain of two people into a viral internet spectacle. Dhanashree revealed that she didn’t even know about the incident at first. “He walked out first, that whole thing happened with the T-shirt and media, and I wasn’t aware about it because I was still inside… I got out from the back gate because I was not liking that. It was just very sad, you don’t want cameras all over your face.”

I genuinely feel that the day it actually happened, it was very emotional for me and my family… I literally started howling and crying in front of everybody. I cannot even express what I was feeling at that point of time

- Dhanashree Verma

She described how she tried to quietly slip away, dressed simply in jeans and a plain T-shirt, sitting in the car with her best friend, trying to “grasp her breath” after the emotional blow. But when she eventually saw the photos on her phone, the shock gave way to a strange kind of clarity. “Ye sach mein isne aisa kiya? (Did he really do this?) In that one second, I was like—it’s over. Why should I cry? Somewhere I felt bad, questioning myself—main kyu ro rahi thi? (Why was I crying?) For this? That was the motivation I needed: I just had to laugh it out,” says the actress.

Even before that moment, Dhanashree said she had prepared herself for the judgment that would inevitably fall on her. “People were going to hold me responsible anyway,” she admitted. And as for whether the T-shirt was intended as a message to her? She brushed it off with wit: “Arre bhai, WhatsApp kardeta!”

Chahal, on the other hand, has previously defended his choice, telling podcaster Raj Shamani: “I just felt like I wanted to give one message and I did that. Because something had happened from the other end… I didn’t want to do it earlier but then something happened and I decided, now everyone can go to hell, I will do what I want.”

Life Beyond the Courtroom:

What’s striking in their contrasting versions of the story is the difference in coping. Chahal leaned into humor and provocation; Dhanashree, meanwhile, revealed the vulnerability and emotional storm that came with watching a marriage collapse in the public eye.

Her honesty underscores the reality faced by many women after separation — the instinctive blame, the pressure to stay composed, and the effort it takes to rebuild dignity after very personal grief plays out on a public stage.