Six-time world boxing champion M.C. Mary Kom has finally spoken openly about her divorce, ending years of speculation around the breakdown of her 20-year marriage. Appearing on Rajat Sharma’s popular TV show Aap Ki Adalat, the Olympic medallist made some of her most candid and controversial statements yet, triggering intense debate and online trolling.
“I was cheated, not the other way around”
During the interview, Mary Kom firmly rejected claims that she abandoned her family or husband. “Maine ditch nahin kiya. Usne cheat kiya, usne ditch kiya,” she said, alleging betrayal and financial misconduct. According to the boxing icon, she kept the matter private for nearly two years before deciding to speak out.
She claimed that the trust she placed in her husband, Karung Onkholer (also known as Onler), was deeply shaken when she discovered financial irregularities linked to her own accounts.
Allegations of financial exploitation
One of the most startling revelations was Mary Kom’s claim that her husband allegedly took loans in her name and depleted her bank accounts without her knowledge. “When I found out, I started shivering,” she recalled, adding that she never checked her finances because she trusted him as her life partner.
She also dismissed long-held narratives around her husband’s sacrifices, questioning claims that he gave up a promising football career to manage the household. Her blunt remarks, suggesting he neither had a stable career nor income, sparked immediate controversy.
Sacrifices, motherhood, and emotional toll
Mary Kom spoke emotionally about the personal cost of her sporting career, saying she missed watching her children grow up and could not always be present as a mother. “How can I stay happy with someone like this after everything I sacrificed?” she asked, explaining why she chose to walk away from the marriage.
Internet turns judge and jury
Social media reactions were swift and sharply divided. While some sympathised with Mary Kom, a large section of the internet accused her of publicly humiliating her husband. Critics questioned why she praised him for years, including in her 2013 autobiography Unbreakable, only to now label him a freeloader and cheat.
One viral comment read, “This is morally wrong. She could have handled it privately instead of washing dirty linen in public.” Another user flipped the narrative, asking whether reactions would be the same if gender roles were reversed.
Some commenters went further, accusing Mary Kom of reinforcing stereotypes about financially independent women and commitment, while others argued her remarks insult homemakers by equating unpaid domestic work with unemployment.
