When Aishwarya Rai was addressed as Mrs Bachchan for the first time: ‘Abhishek, I looked at each other, burst out laughing’

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan married in a star-studded ceremony in 2007 that had the entire India transfixed. The private ceremony at the Bachchans’ home had Aishwarya dressed in as a gorgeous south Indian bride.

In an interview following her wedding, she had spoken about the moment it sunk in that she was now married. “It was on the flight to our honeymoon in Bora Bora,” she had said in the throwback interview. “The stewardess welcomed me on-board saying, ‘Welcome, Mrs Bachchan.’ And Abhishek and I just looked at each other and burst out laughing! And it hit me, I’m married! I’m Mrs Bachchan!”

The couple has been married for over a decade and has a daughter, Aaradhya, together. Speaking about his wife and their first meeting, Abhishek had told HT earlier, “You hear about Ash – we all did before I became an actor – she comes with this huge reputation of being some divaesque figure. Everyone imagines she floats on a cloud or something!” he says, grinning. “But anyone who knows her knows her to be genuine, down to earth, approachable and tactile. And that disarms you. You think ‘Wait a second, she’s pretty cool’. And she really is.”

They were friends before they fell in love. “I’ve never asked who fell in love first, actually. I’ll have to ask her that. But the moment we got together we knew this was it,” Abhishek had said in the same interview. “It’s not like we said ‘One minute, let the relationship marinate, we want time to get to know each other’,” was Aishwarya’s reply.