Neha Dhupia had turned down Angad Bedi's marriage proposal 4 years ago

The news of actress Neha Dhupia and actor Angad Bedi's wedding on 10 May surprised most in and outside the film industry. While there had been some rumours of the couple dating, there was nothing concrete.

Now, Dhupia has spoken for the first time since her big day and revealed a few interesting details of their courtship and marriage. She said Bedi had proposed to her four years ago, but the actress had turned him down.

"Our friends knew Angad had feelings for me, but it was one-sided till I came around," the actress told the Bombay Times entertainment supplement of The Times of India newspaper. "He had proposed marriage to me four years ago, but I turned down his proposal at that time because I was in a relationship."

Dhupia was in a serious relationship with squash player Ritwik Bhattacharya. But after they parted ways in 2010, the actress was not linked, at least in the public eye, with anyone else. Indeed, in an interview with Cinestaan.com in 2016, Dhupia had even insisted that she was single.

Anyway, she said Bedi came back four years later "and said I had wasted four years of his life. He said, ‘I don't want to be just in a relationship with you. Either you are my wife or nothing.’ I always believe in one thing — the right time and place."

The Tumhari Sulu (2017) actress said she found Bedi to be a changed man: "In the past four years, I have seen a huge change in him. He has matured a lot. In the end, everything else goes flying out of the window and friendship is all that matters. I can promise you we aren't going to be a couple who will post a lot about ourselves on social media."

Bedi admitted he was afraid to commit earlier. “I was a commitment-phobic person. I never thought I would settle down. Marriage has happened beautifully for me,” he said.

He also spoke about spotting Dhupia a long time ago. "When I used to play under-19 cricket in Delhi, during a gym session, I spotted this girl in really tiny shorts. I was impressed with her running technique. I figured out her name was Neha Dhupia and that she was preparing for the Miss India pageant.

"Then, many years later, we met in Mumbai and became friends. I was interested in her, but she said she wanted to be just friends. We have both been in relationships with other people and there has never been a facade.

"When it comes to spending the rest of your life with someone, you should do it with a friend. It doesn't matter if that person is illiterate, educated or earns Rs10 or Rs10 crore. Eventually, these things don't matter,” said the Pink (2016) actor, who is the son of legendary India cricketer Bishen Singh Bedi.

The hush-hush wedding had given rise to rumours of Dhupia being pregnant. However, her father has rubbished these rumours.

“There is no such thing," Pradip Dhupia told the Dainik Bhaskar newspaper. "Since the two got married early, people are thinking otherwise. But there is no such thing. People will keep talking and spread rumours as per their wish.”

Dhupia said filmmaker Karan Johar was the only person from the industry who knew of the marirage. Otherwise, the couple wanted it to be a very private affair.

“Angad didn't propose to me," she said. "He went with the rishta to my parents. His mother was not ready to give her nod for the wedding date till she met me. I met her two days before the wedding and she asked if I was sure about getting married to him and some other questions, which a to-be mother-in-law would ask. As far as his father was concerned, we had got strict instructions from him to keep it low-key or else the press would get a whiff of it and there would be OB vans outside the gurdwara.”