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Today, on the actor’s 45th birthday, we look into how Dutta and Bhupathi met, fell in love, and how the latter proposed marriage to Dutta at 2 am. When the Housefull actor appeared on Koffee with Karan in 2010 along with her then-fiance, she said, “Mahesh is the quintessential Mr. Darcy and I am an avid literature lover, so I have to say, Elizabeth has found her Mr. Darcy.”
Mahesh Bhupathi had his eyes on Lara Dutta ever since he saw her at an event in 2000 where she was celebrating her Miss Universe win along with Priyanka Chopra. But he never got an opportunity to talk to her before 2009 when his office contacted her.
How Lara Dutta and Mahesh Bhupathi met
Lara Dutta shared with Karan Johar that her first meeting with Mahesh Bhupathi was for professional reasons. She said, “We met as professionals and I didn’t know much about Mahesh. I am not a big tennis fan. I met him as Globosport (Mahesh’s company) head and a client he was handling.” The first text Dutta got from Bhupathi was, “Hey Lara, this is Mahesh Bhupathi. Would love to meet up. Let me know whenever you would want to meet up for a drink.” On this Dutta doubted his professionalism and told him she doesn’t drink and would rather meet for coffee. They met for coffee and from then, started meeting in between his tournaments. “We would meet up and discuss projects or endorsement deals and that was it,” Dutta shared.After reports of Lara Dutta and Mahesh Bhupathi dating each other came out, some speculated her to be the reason behind his divorce from his then-wife Shvetha. But Dutta clarified that she “didn’t know Mahesh all through his marriage”. She said, “I was nowhere on the scene when the split happened. When I met him, I knew he was legally not divorced but there was no baggage that he brought with it.”
