It would have been a tough decision for Dia Mirza to call off her 5 years of marriage and 11 years of togetherness with husband Sahil Sangha. The estranged couple mutually decided to part ways from each other without having any form of bitterness. But with separation, life becomes tough especially for Indian women. And Dia Mirza was no exception. People's perception towards her changed, but the actress remained unperturbed.

"It amuses me because you are moving in circles where people are educated and progressive but they still feel a sense of sadness. They respond from a sense of empathy as well. So the gaze is not necessarily critical, it's empathetic and sometimes even pitiful. Sometimes, it's a gaze of awe and admiration," Dia Mirza told Pinkvilla in an interview.

Dia Mirza, Sahil Sangha
Dia Mirza, Sahil SanghaInstagram

After Dia announced her separation, many women reached out to her to know how she had been dealing with the situation and how she has been coming out strong despite hardships. "I get so many messages from women who are going through similar circumstances, saying, 'How are you so strong? How do you smile? How do you get up and go to work?' I don't have an answer for them. I just tell them that I find my way and I hope you will find yours because I can't tell you the right way," Dia said.

Speaking about being tagged divorced, Dia said, "Some people feel divorce is an excuse to not compromise. Yes. in life, you have to adapt and compromise. But the questions is - when does it stop? how much is too much, how less is too little? That's a personal choice."

Dia Mirza
Dia MirzaInstagram

Soon after the news of Dia Mirza's separation, rumours started doing the rounds of the industry that Bollywood writer Kanika Dhillon was the reason behind Dia and Sahil's break-up. Coincidentally, Kanika too had announced her separation from husband Prakash Kovelamudi.

Dia was outraged with certain media reports about Kanika and Sahil's alleged affair. In a series of tweets, Dia slammed the media and said, "As a woman I will not stand for another woman's name being used so irresponsibly to perpetuate a lie."