'You are NOT MY TYPE': Anupamaa's Manish Goel reveals wife Poonam did NOT want to MARRY him due to his PAST

Manish Goel, who has recently entered Rajan Shahi's Anupamaa as Raghav has been married to his lady love Poonam for more than two decades. The couple who met and fell in love on the sets of Kasauti Zindagi Kay, never had a 'courtship period,' reveals Manish in his recent interaction.

Speaking to Siddharth Kanan about wife Poonam, Manish reveals how it was his mother who had proposed marriage to the actress when she met her and that Poonam did not like the same. ''Meri mom ne Poonam ko bola, 'mere ghar ki bahu bann jao,' and Poonam was so upset, ke aise kaise sab ke saamne bola. Phir maine kaha ke mummy dhundh rahi hai ladkiyan, humare marwadiyon mein aise hi hota hai. Toh phir wo kehti hai, 'Manish, you are not my type.' Toh maine kaha, 'You are also not my type boss, mere hai kahi, chalraha hai.' (Laughs) Toh aise humara tashan chalta rehta tha,'' says Manish.

The Kasauati Zindagi Kay fame then reveals proposing to Poonam two months after the incident and says, ''Pata nahi kya hua do mahine baad mujhe aisa laga ke yaar yahi sahi hai. Toh I went up to her and I said, 'I think you are the right girl,' so she said, 'Pagal ho kya?' And I said, 'Nahi nahi, I am proposing you. Mujhe ye affair aur going around scene nahi chaiye, I want to get married to you. ' She said, 'Have you lost it?' Toh maine kaha, 'No no, I am proposing you, lets get married.''

Manish then goes ahead to reveal that Poonam took 6 months to accept his proposal and says,''Kyunki usko mera background maalum tha. Popular yes, Bahut logo ko date kiya, mujhe yaad bhi nahi, maine gina bhi nahi. Apun har taraf thhe, matlab aisa tha ke income achi chal rahi hai, aap thode popular bhi ho gaye ho and if you are not committed to anyone then what is the harm?''

Kyunki usko mera background maalum tha. Popular yes, Bahut logo ko date kiya, mujhe yaad bhi nahi, maine gina bhi nahi. Apun har taraf thhe, matlab aisa tha ke income achi chal rahi hai, aap thode popular bhi ho gaye ho and if you are not committed to anyone then what is the harm?

- Manish Goel

''Poonam ko main ye saari baatein bata tha night shift mein aur imagine main usi ko propose kar raha hoon shadi ke liye. Usne bola tu kaha shadi karega, tu kabhi idhar toh kabhi udhar. Maine kaha main sare accounts close kardunga, tu meri biwi bann jaa,'' Manish adds.

The Anupamaa fame then opens up on getting a call from Poonam when he was shooting with Urvashi Dholakia for a scene. ''Mere boy ne kaha ke Poonam mam ka call tha, toh maine kaha pehle bolta. Toh woh bola sir aapka shot tha. Maine kaha pagal hai tu? Pehle bar toh phone kiya hai usne, idhar de. So I called her and then she said, 'Its a yes.' Maine kaha are you serious? Bandra tak pohch jaunga, mana mat kar dena bhai. I still remember, it was 30th April, 2002 when she said yes.''

Goel then goes on to reveal that he got engaged to Poonam in just 7 days of her accepting the proposal and getting married to her in the same year. The couple have been married for about 23 years now and are parents to two children. On the work front, Manish has returned to television after a gap of 3 and a half years with Rajan Shahi's Anupamaa. The actor has been roped in to essay the character of Raghav opposite Anupamaa, aka, Rupali Ganguly, who is the titular character in the show. Manish had faced a lot of backlash by fans of Gaurav Khanna when he entered Anupamaa, however, the actor is now slowly making place in the hearts of the viewers. As for Gaurav, the actor recently lifted the trophy of Celebrity Master Chef.