The couple, who married in April 2026, says split was mutual, requesting fans and media to avoid further speculation
Indian rapper Badshah and Punjabi actor Isha Rikhi have confirmed their separation, just five months after their wedding, through matching statements posted to their Instagram Stories on Monday.
Screengrab: badboyshah/Instagram
Badshah shared the statement first, writing, “I and Isha Rikhi have mutually decided to part ways and move forward on our separate paths.” He added that the decision had been made “with mutual respect” and asked fans and the media to give the couple space.
He said the statement would be their only comment on the matter and that he did not want “further speculation about the split”.
Isha Rikhi posted an identical note on her own account shortly after, confirming that the two had “mutually decided to part ways” and echoing the request for privacy.
Screengrab: isharikhi/Instagram
Trouble before the split
Speculation about trouble in the marriage had been building for weeks before Monday’s statement.
Isha had appeared to allude to the situation herself in a since-deleted Instagram post, in which she wrote about staying silent out of fear rather than acceptance. She said she had felt “overwhelmed” by her husband’s perceived influence and resources and had convinced herself that remaining silent was the safer option.
She added that she was now choosing courage over fear, even though she was not ready to share further details.
Speculation of a wedding first broke out in March, after Isha’s mother, Poonam Rikhi, shared a series of photographs from what appeared to be wedding festivities, captioned simply, “God bless you.”
The pictures showed the couple in traditional wedding attire, with Badshah wearing a brown kurta and golden safaa and Isha dressed in a red shalwar kameez. One image appeared to show the two exchanging garlands during what looked like a varmala ceremony.
Poonam Rikhi later posted a video of the rituals, fuelling further speculation before the couple made their relationship official.
At the time, Badshah and Isha had reportedly been dating for close to four years, having met through mutual friends and kept their relationship largely private.
Badshah followed his mother-in-law’s post with pictures of his own the following month, although he kept Isha’s face out of frame.
The two were formally married in a traditional Gurdwara ceremony in April, in a union reportedly approved by both families.
The split marks the end of Badshah’s second marriage. He was previously married to Jasmine Masih, whom he met online. The two wed in 2012 and had a daughter, Jessemy Grace Masih Singh, in 2017, before separating in 2020. Jasmine now lives in London with their daughter.
Isha began her acting career in Punjabi cinema with Jatt Boys Putt Jattan De before making her Bollywood debut with Nawabzaade.
