Veteran actor Sivakumar on Suriya-Jyotika’s 4-year wait to marry: ‘She was from Mumbai’

Veteran Tamil actor Sivakumar recently reminisced about his son Suriya and daughter-in-law Jyotika's 20-year marriage, which concluded with a grand Christian wedding in Scotland. He fondly recalled the couple's perseverance in their journey, noting that they had to wait for four years before their families gave their approval. Sivakumar mused, "Love doesn’t come easy.

She was from Mumbai. He was from Chennai. He had said that if he had to get married, it would be her." The actor highlighted the importance of patience and understanding in relationships, questioning the culture's inclination towards instant decisions.

In a broader context, Delnna Rrajesh, a psychotherapist and relationship breakthrough coach, explained that while waiting is not the same as tolerating disrespect or putting one's life on hold, it does involve commitment to a meaningful relationship while acknowledging that certain situations require time, conversations, and emotional processing.

She emphasized that family approval can sometimes lead to painful psychological conflicts between individual autonomy and family belonging. However, family approval should not be seen as permission for coercion or indefinite interference in an adult's choices. Instead, respectful dialogue and time can often resolve such differences.

Delnna also stressed that commitment is easier to proclaim than to display, particularly during challenging circumstances. True commitment is demonstrated when partners remain respectful, consistent, and aligned despite uncertainties, disagreements, distance, career pressures, family complexities, or delayed gratification. She pointed out that time can provide valuable insights into a relationship, revealing how individuals handle frustration, match promises with actions, respond to disagreements, and continue choosing the relationship after the initial passion fades away.

However, Delnna cautioned against conflating fighting for a relationship with fighting inside a relationship. While external resistance can sometimes cause couples to cling together due to the desire to prove others wrong, this battle can obscure the need to examine compatibility. Therefore, waiting should involve honest questions about shared values, communication during conflict, expectations around career, finances, children, caregiving, and extended families, as well as whether individuals are building a life together or merely defending a love story.

The story of Suriya and Jyotika's 20-year marriage becomes particularly relevant for younger couples, according to Delnna.