After years of speculation around his relationship with Lekha Washington, Imran Khan has finally come out with the truth. In a recent interview, the actor revealed that he has been dating Lekha since 2020. For good measure, he added that he came close to Lekha only during the pandemic, 1 and a half years after his divorce from his ex-wife Avantika. 

Imran Khan defends girlfriend Lekha Washington 

In a conversation with Vogue India, Imran spoke about her relationship with Lekha for the first time. The actor said, “The speculation that I’m romantically involved with Lekha Washington is true. I’m divorced and have been separated since February 2019.”

He added that he was addressing the topic merely to save themselves from the hate speech directed at him and his girlfriend. “There’s this narrative of Lekha being a homewrecker, which infuriates me because not only is it misogynistic but it also takes away my agency as an individual.” 

Imran also shared the timeline of their relationship to further rid themselves of any accusations of cheating on their respective ex-partners. He said, “Lekha and I grew close during the lockdown, a year and a half after I had been separated from Avantika and almost a year after she had separated from her partner, not husband as it has been widely reported.”

Lekha works as an actress predominantly in the Tamil and Telugu industry. Rumours of her dating Imran first surfaced in 2021. Since then the actors have attended several public events together. Most recently, the rumoured couple arrived together for the birthday bash of actress Kriti Kharbanda. However, this is the first time either of them have come our with an official confirmation of their relationship.