Love And Remarriage: How My Kids Welcoming My Baraat Was Empowering

We all deserve a second chance at love if it doesn't turn out to be how we wanted the first time. For Shivani, it was much more than that. It was about regaining her identity, her independence, and her right to live on her terms, whilst supporting her children through it all. She ended her unhappy marriage at 35 and worked towards building her identity. And then entered Vinay, a man who loved and respected her in equal measures she deserved. 

Shivani shares with SheThePeople how she ended her unhappy marriage, why she gave love a second chance at 39, and how her kids welcoming her baraat was monumental for her.

Love And Remarriage

“At 35, I ended my unhappy marriage and walked out with my three children. It was not easy. I still can recall the raw emotions I was feeling back then and society kept reminding me of the surrounding stigma. But I knew that surviving in a toxic household can never be healthy for anyone.

After the divorce, people told me that my only responsibility should be to raise my kids and not think about my happiness. But my parents always said, ‘your happiness is equally important.’ During that difficult phase, my parents’ support encouraged me to keep going.

A couple of years after, in 2018, I met Vinay on a dating app. He was also a divorcee who was raising his son alone. We got along well and started talking. Slowly, with time, we fell in love.

I was sure that I had found my Mr Right, and after about six months of dating, I introduced him to my kids, and they got along beautifully. I introduced Vinay to my parents after dating for almost a year, and they loved him right away. My parents wanted me to make my own decision about marriage without having any other influence.

After dating for almost 1.5 years, we decided to tie the knot. On the day of my wedding, people said, ‘don’t take your kids to the wedding, it doesn’t look good,’ but, of course, I once again made sure my kids were with me every step of my wedding! Right from welcoming the Baraat to walking to the Mandap, we celebrated the union as a family and it couldn't have been any better.

My journey only got better after the wedding because not only did I get my ‘happily ever after ’ with my new husband and kids, but I also reconsidered my true passion and realised that I have long wanted to start my own venture and set up a Greeting Card business called ‘Mubarak Cards’ which is known for its unique designs and Desi Twists!

Today, my kids are proud to see their mother as a confident and successful entrepreneur who had the courage to change her life.

My life experiences have taught me that if you’re unhappy with something in your life, then change it - because life is too short to be anything but happy.”

Suggested reading: How Our Second Chance To Love And Marriage Empowered Us