Inside the Affairs That Allegedly Ended a 25-Year Marriage
By Ravi Shankar β Senior Entertainment Writer, B20Masala.co.in
PUBLISHED 28 FEBRUARY 2026 Β· 8 MIN READ
I still remember the first time I interviewed Vijay back in 2018 during the Sarkar promotions. We sat in a plush hotel suite in Chennai, and when I asked him about balancing stardom with family life, his face lit up. “My wife Sangeeta is my anchor,” he told me then, his voice steady with conviction. “Without her, none of this would matter.”
Fast forward to February 2026, and those words feel like they belong to a different lifetime. Reports emerging from multiple Tamil entertainment portals suggest that Sangeeta Sornalingam has filed for divorce from Vijay after 25 years of marriage β allegedly citing his extramarital affairs as the primary reason. Having covered the Tamil film industry since 2018, I’ve heard the whispers. But now they’ve become front-page news.
This isn’t just another celebrity split. This is Thalapathy Vijay β the man who commands βΉ275 crore box office openings, who recently transitioned into politics with his TVK party, and whose fan following rivals religious devotion in Tamil Nadu. His personal life has always been carefully guarded. Until now.
The Affairs That Broke the Marriage: What Industry Insiders Told Me
Let me be blunt: I’ve been hearing about Vijay’s alleged affairs for at least three years now. In my line of work, you develop sources β makeup artists, spot boys, production coordinators β people who see what really happens on film sets when cameras aren’t rolling. The rumors weren’t about one affair. They were about a pattern.
The most persistent whispers centered around two co-stars from recent films. A production manager I’ve known since 2019 told me off-record last November: “Sir, everyone on set knew. The chemistry wasn’t just for the cameras.” He was referring to Vijay’s 2023 film Leo, though he refused to name names directly. Industry protocol, he explained, protects the powerful.
TIMELINE ALERT:According to sources close to the Vijay household, Sangeeta first discovered text messages on Vijay’s phone in mid-2023, triggering the first major confrontation in their marriage.
A veteran Tamil film journalist who’s covered Vijay since his Ghilli days told me something revealing: “Ravi, you know how this industry works. When a star reaches Vijay’s level β βΉ250-300 crore per film, massive political aspirations β the rules of normal marriage don’t apply. Or at least, that’s what they convince themselves.”
The alleged affairs weren’t one-night stands or fleeting attractions. Sources indicate these were sustained relationships that developed during long shooting schedules. One reportedly lasted over eighteen months, coinciding with back-to-back film productions in 2022-2023. Another allegedly involved someone from the political sphere after Vijay launched his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam party in February 2024.
What strikes me most is how carefully this was all kept under wraps. Tamil cinema has a sophisticated PR machinery that protects its top stars. Fan clubs β which for Vijay number in the thousands β actively suppress negative stories. But a wife filing for divorce? That’s impossible to spin.
Who Is Sangeeta Sornalingam? The Woman Behind the Superstar
In all my years covering Kollywood, I’ve interacted with Sangeeta exactly twice β both times at film functions where she accompanied Vijay. She struck me as intensely private, almost withdrawn from the spotlight her husband inhabited so comfortably. Unlike other star wives who’ve carved out their own public personas, Sangeeta deliberately stayed in the shadows.
Sangeeta Sornalingam comes from a Sri Lankan Tamil Christian family settled in Chennai. She married Vijay in August 1999, when he was still establishing himself in the industry. This was pre-Ghilli Vijay, pre-superstardom Vijay. She wasn’t marrying a guaranteed megastar β she was marrying Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar, an actor with potential.
They have two children: Jason Sanjay (born 2000) and Divya Saasha (born 2005). According to family friends I spoke with, Sangeeta essentially raised them single-handedly while Vijay’s career skyrocketed through the 2000s and 2010s. She managed the household, shielded the kids from media glare, and rarely granted interviews.
MARRIAGE MILESTONE:Vijay and Sangeeta celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on August 25, 2024 β just six months before divorce rumors surfaced. Friends say the celebration was notably low-key.
A Chennai-based psychologist who works with film industry families (speaking anonymously) told me: “The partner who sacrifices their identity for the star’s career often reaches a breaking point. They wake up one day and realize they’ve become invisible. For Sangeeta, those alleged affairs might have been the final straw, but the cracks were probably forming for years.”
What’s particularly heartbreaking is the timing. Vijay just entered politics full-time, announcing he’d retire from cinema after two more films. For Sangeeta, this might have felt like: “Now that you’re pivoting to a new career, I’m supposed to stand by and pretend the last 25 years of neglect didn’t happen?”
The Political Angle: How TVK Complicates Everything
Here’s something most entertainment reporters aren’t emphasizing enough: Vijay’s political ambitions make this divorce exponentially more complicated. When he launched Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam in February 2024, positioning himself as a secular, progressive alternative to DMK and AIADMK, family values became part of his brand.
I attended the TVK launch rally at V Salai in Chennai. The crowd was estimated at 300,000 people. Vijay’s speech emphasized “ethical leadership” and “accountability.” His campaign materials featured subtle references to family and tradition. Now, those same materials look deeply ironic.
A political analyst I frequently consult told me: “Voters in Tamil Nadu are forgiving of film stars’ personal lives β up to a point. But if Sangeeta goes public with specific allegations, if there are legal proceedings that reveal sordid details, Vijay’s carefully constructed political image could crater before the 2026 state elections.”
The financial implications are staggering too. Vijay reportedly earns βΉ250-300 crore per film (including profit share) and has substantial real estate holdings across Chennai, including a βΉ75 crore mansion in ECR. Tamil divorce law doesn’t automatically mandate 50-50 asset division, but given the marriage’s length and Sangeeta’s role as homemaker, she’d be entitled to substantial compensation.
My take on this is straightforward: Vijay miscalculated. He assumed his stardom provided immunity from consequences. Vijay believed his fan base would circle wagons. He didn’t anticipate that a woman who stood by him for 25 years might finally say “enough.”
The Affairs Timeline: Reconstructing What Happened When
Based on conversations with multiple sources over the past eighteen months, here’s what I’ve been able to piece together about the timeline of Vijay’s alleged extramarital relationships:
2021-2022: During the filming of Beast, crew members noted unusually close interactions between Vijay and a co-star. One assistant director mentioned to me that Vijay’s vanity van visits became “predictable and frequent.” Whether this constituted a full affair remains unconfirmed, but the optics concerned his inner circle.
Mid-2023: This is when things apparently escalated. Vijay was shooting Leo with director Lokesh Kanagaraj, and sources say a relationship developed that extended well beyond the shooting schedule. A spot boy told me he personally witnessed late-night meetings at five-star hotels in Chennai. “We all knew,” he said simply. “It wasn’t even being hidden from the unit.”
August 2023: According to one highly placed source, Sangeeta discovered explicit text messages on Vijay’s phone. This triggered the first major marital crisis. Vijay apparently promised to end the relationship and attend marriage counseling. But my source says “the damage was already done. Trust, once broken…”
2024-2025: Vijay launches TVK, begins his political journey. Publicly, he and Sangeeta appear together at key events. Privately, sources say they’re barely communicating. Then, allegedly, another relationship develops β this time with someone connected to his political circle, not cinema.
February 2026: Divorce papers are reportedly filed. Multiple Tamil news portals break the story simultaneously, suggesting a coordinated leak β possibly from Sangeeta’s legal team establishing public record.
INDUSTRY IMPACT:Vijay’s upcoming film Thalapathy 69 (his final cinema project) has a reported budget of βΉ400 crore. Producers are now worried the divorce scandal could impact opening weekend collections.
What Happens Next: The Legal, Financial, and Political Fallout
Having covered several high-profile celebrity divorces β from Aamir Khan-Kiran Rao to Hrithik-Sussanne β I know how these usually unfold. The initial denial. Then the “mutual respect” statement. Then the lawyers taking over.
Vijay’s team has been uncharacteristically silent. No Instagram post. No press release. Just radio silence, which in 2026’s hyperconnected media environment feels deafening. His fan clubs have gone into damage control mode, flooding social media with #StandByThalapathy hashtags and dismissing the reports as “paid propaganda.”
But here’s what I think actually happens: Sangeeta has lawyered up with one of Chennai’s top matrimonial attorneys. She’s done being the silent wife. If Vijay tries to lowball the settlement or contest the allegations, this could get very public very fast. Court documents in India become public record. Details emerge. Media feeding frenzies ensue.
Politically, Vijay faces a credibility crisis. How does he campaign on ethics and accountability while his personal life is tabloid fodder? The DMK will weaponize this. So will the BJP. In Tamil Nadu’s vicious political arena, personal scandals aren’t off-limits β they’re ammunition.
Financially, Vijay will take a significant hit, but he’ll survive. He’s worth an estimated βΉ850-1000 crore according to industry valuations. Even a substantial settlement won’t bankrupt him. But his carefully constructed image as the “family man superstar”? That’s gone forever.
The saddest part, to me, is the human cost. Two kids watching their parents’ marriage disintegrate in public. A woman who dedicated a quarter-century to supporting someone’s dreams, only to be betrayed. A man whose professional success couldn’t compensate for personal failures.
In my years covering entertainment, I’ve learned that stardom is both a privilege and a trap. It gives you everything except permission to be ordinary, flawed, human. Vijay chose to be extraordinary on screen. But he forgot that the people in his life were real, not supporting characters in his personal screenplay.
As of now, neither Vijay nor Sangeeta has issued an official statement. Their lawyers are presumably negotiating terms. The Tamil film industry is holding its collective breath, waiting to see if this becomes a clean, quiet divorce or a spectacular public implosion.
Based on what my sources are telling me, I’d bet on somewhere in between. Messy enough to damage Vijay’s political ambitions. Quiet enough to protect the kids from the worst of it. And permanent enough that there’s no going back.
Thalapathy’s greatest battle isn’t at the box office anymore. It’s in family court.
Frequently Asked Questions
What specific affairs is Vijay Thalapathy accused of having?
While names haven’t been officially confirmed, industry sources point to at least two significant extramarital relationships. The first allegedly occurred during the filming of ‘Leo’ in 2023 with a co-star, lasting approximately 18 months. The second reportedly developed in 2024-2025 with someone connected to his political party TVK after he entered politics. These aren’t confirmed publicly, but multiple production crew members and insiders have corroborated the timeline to various journalists, including myself.
Has Sangeeta Sornalingam officially filed for divorce from Vijay?
As of February 2026, multiple Tamil media outlets have reported that divorce papers were filed, but neither Vijay nor Sangeeta has issued an official public statement confirming this. The simultaneous reporting by several credible outlets suggests there’s substance to the claims, and sources close to the family indicate legal proceedings are indeed underway. However, until court documents become public record or the parties issue statements, it remains ‘reportedly’ filed rather than definitively confirmed.
How will this divorce impact Vijay’s political career with TVK?
This is potentially devastating for Vijay’s political ambitions. When he launched Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam in February 2024, he positioned himself as an ethical alternative to existing parties, with family values subtly woven into his messaging. A messy divorce with allegations of affairs directly contradicts that image. Tamil Nadu voters have historically been forgiving of film stars’ personal lives, but for someone transitioning to politics, credibility is everything. If detailed allegations emerge during legal proceedings, his opponents will absolutely weaponize them heading into the 2026 state elections.
What is Sangeeta Sornalingam entitled to in the divorce settlement?
Under Tamil Nadu’s matrimonial laws, Sangeeta would be entitled to substantial compensation given the 25-year marriage duration and her role as primary caregiver to their children while Vijay built his career. While Indian law doesn’t mandate automatic 50-50 asset division like some Western countries, courts typically award significant settlements to homemaker spouses in long marriages. Given Vijay’s estimated net worth of βΉ850-1000 crore, including his βΉ75 crore ECR mansion and multiple real estate holdings, Sangeeta could potentially receive assets worth several hundred crores, especially if infidelity is proven as grounds for divorce.
