'Mika Singh and I are friends, never said we are in love': Akanksha Puri after swayamvar on national TV

Days after winning the reality show Swayamvar: Mika Vi Vohti, actress Akanksha Puri has now said that she and the singer are not a couple but just friends.

Akanksha was declared winner of the reality show, where the singer chose her as his future life partner. After the show, Akanksha had reportedly said that they would take things ahead one step at a time, and, eventually, decide about getting married to each other.

It may be mentioned that on the show, the two had even exchanged varmalas.

Now, in an interview with ETimes, Akanksha said, "The swayamvar was about choosing a partner, so we decided on each other as we have known each other for almost a decade. We have never said that we are in love or displayed any romance. We were clear that we were looking for a life partner and preferably someone who has been a friend. But post the show, nothing has changed between us and we continue to be the same old friends that we were."

"We are protective of each other and respect each other. We both individually have had bitter experiences in life, so we are going slow. We don’t hold hands or indulge in any PDA because we know where we stand. Also, currently, we are busy working; in fact, we are both workaholics and understand each other’s professional commitments," she added.

Before the swayamvar, Akanksha, who has been friends with Mika for 13-14 years, had been rumoured to be dating him for a while. Not just that, in July 2021, Mika and Akanksha got stuck in Mumbai rains after the singer's car broke down and they were spotted by the paparazzi.

For those unversed, Akanksha was previously dating ‘Bigg Boss 13’ contestant Paras Chhabra. However, Paras and Akanksha's love life had come under the scanner after the former found love in co-contestant Mahira Sharma.