Martina Thariyan and Siddhartha Saluhja unquestionably set an example that love has no boundaries or religion and is purely based on trust and companionship. After years of dating each other, the two lovebirds tied the knot in 2022.
Their’s was nothing short of a romantic Bollywood love story. Read on as Splitsvilla fame Martina Thariyan and Siddhartha Saluja exclusively talk to iDiva about their journey, challenges, and everything in between.
How did it all start?
Credits: Instagram/martina_thariyan
When asked by the couple how it all started, Martina tells us, “Back in 2018, a dear friend of mine, Kavya, asked me to join her at a music festival near Chandigarh that she was playing at. It was a long walk to the venue, and I remember she sent Siddhartha to come pick me up from the parking lot. I didn’t think of anything at first, It was just awkward silence in the car because we did not speak for those 5 minutes. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I was sitting with my future husband. We barely spoke those three days, but we connected on social media post-festival, and it was the start of a beautiful friendship.”
Talking about how their friendship turned into a love affair, they told us how it remained friendship until COVID-19 happened in 2020. Martina said, “We connected again but this time it was different and we realised that we had a spark between us which was more than friendship. We were living in different cities but we were so much at ease, never doubted each other and we never broke each other’s trust. This sense of ease eventually graduated into a beautiful relationship”.
They say such stories are made in heaven. As fate would have it, they first met through a friend. Who knew a random festival would turn into a magical love story?
From friendship to a magical love story
Credits: Martina Thariyan
Martina and Siddhartha dated for quite a long time before marrying each other in 2022. When talking about how their idea of love evolved or changed over the years, they told us how their equation started on a very friendly note which eventually flourished into admiration and love. The fact that they can let each other just ‘be’ is what keeps them together.
The couple said, “Over the years we’ve only grown in the sense of responsibilities towards each other. We are at a phase where we are building a stable future together and we only hope to be each other’s critic and confidante.”
Forever and always kind of love
Credit: Instagram/martina_thariyan
After dating each other for quite a few years, Martina and Siddhartha got married to each other in 2022 in a big, fat Punjabi Indian wedding.
Talking about their intercultural marriage and relationship, the couple revealed, “We come from an intercultural, inter-faith, inter-state kind of relationship.” Martina comes from a South Indian Christian family, and Siddhartha comes from a Hindu Punjabi family.
Martina also described the intercultural change post-marriage and said, “Post-marriage, I had a major culture shock moving out to Delhi. The food, the lifestyle, the traditions, the festivities, etc. What made it so easy was the fact that Sid always validated and respected my side of culture, traditions, etc. He would randomly make dinner plans at a South Indian restaurant (even though his Punjabi palate can’t handle the hardcore spices) just knowing that I would love that! On Sundays, he would ask me to drive along with him to church so that I wouldn’t miss out on my faith practices. This is Sid’s love for me.”
The idea of love & relationship
Credits: Instagram/martina_thariyan
There’s a beautiful and thoughtful saying that “Life is a crazy ride, it’s a privilege to go through it with a partner”. When two people are in love, they not only support each other in good times but in bad times too. They lift each other up and together, they create a safer and happier future to spend the rest of their lives. That’s what Martina and Siddhartha’s love story teaches us.
We also asked the couple about what according to them is the most liberating and freeing thing about finding each other and they said, “We feel these days couples usually tie down the idea of love with all kinds of expectations from each other. We walk into a relationship hoping the other person will fulfil all our shortcomings”.
Adding to it, Martina said, “When I met Siddhartha, I wasn’t seeking love but finding him was equal to finding an eased-out version of myself and that’s why loving him was equal to loving myself.”
A journey they both embarked with love
Credits: Martina Thariyan
Space plays a crucial role in any relationship. When two people are together, they tend to find it difficult to get personal space. We asked Martina and Siddhartha their views on respecting your partner’s space and personal growth. They said, “We feel in today’s world we are all so exhausted in keeping up with the hustle culture around us that we tend to expect so much more from our partners too.”
Giving a wonderful example, Martina explained, “During my pregnancy, it wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies. I had moments where I was so worked up with all the changes happening that I was projecting all of my anxiety and mood swings on Sid. But I eventually realised that we both were going through a transitional period (him with work/business and me with pregnancy) that the least we could do is just comfort each other and simply lend a shoulder to lean on.”
When two people find each other, they make each other a better individual too, We asked how they as partners have contributed to the same. For which Martina said, “I would say Sid and I have made each other a better person by accepting each other the way we are- our strengths, our weaknesses, our flaws, our imperfections etc. The comfort that we get in each other’s presence is what makes us want to be with each other. No formalities, no judgement whatsoever.”
The next chapter!
Credits: Martina Thariyan
As they say, life goes on with a happily ever after, and so is the case with Martina and Siddhartha, who welcomed a baby boy on December 25, 2023. Talking about becoming new parents to a baby boy, the couple was filled with joy and said, “We’ve been looking forward to this phase for sure, but we weren’t fully ready for what was coming—by that, we mean the sleepless nights. But just seeing our little one brings this warmth into our hearts. We have a whole different level of respect for mothers now! And our life these days is all about nurturing our baby in the best way possible.”
The couple also revealed the best thing about being new parents. They said, “This feeling is unreal. Nothing we’ve ever known before. It’s this sense of otherworldly love along with a hell lot of responsibility for a being that we’ve put in a lot of patience and love creating! Both of us are seeing sides of each other that we’ve never known existed. Also, parenthood has given us a weird sense of satisfaction too.”
Social and lead images: Instagram/martina_thariyan
