In the first two seasons of *Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives*, Maheep Kapoor and Seema Sajdeh appeared to be close friends. However, the third season revealed a shift in their relationship, marked by tension and distance. Over the course of eight episodes, their friendship issues were prominent, leading Karan Johar to step in and help resolve the conflict. During a conversation with him, Seema expressed her feelings of guilt over allegedly spreading Covid to Maheep and her family, including her elderly parents and daughter, Shanaya. “I was blamed as the super-spreader,” she shared.
In the season finale, Maheep addressed the camera, stating, “Seema and I are socially fine with each other. But Karan noticed something at Gauri’s party and felt we needed to discuss it.” Karan commented on the changed dynamics, noting that while Bhavana is close to both of them, a wall seems to have formed between Maheep and Seema. He asked Seema about the source of their distance.
Seema responded, “For the first time, we find ourselves at opposite ends. We used to balance each other out, but since the Covid incident, many things have happened. I fell ill just before discovering I had Covid. I was testing frequently and didn’t believe I had it. I felt completely blamed as the super-spreader. When Maheep got Covid, I was concerned for her and called daily, but she didn’t return my calls.”
Maheep interjected, defending her reaction, “I was dealing with my own chaos. I had exposed my parents and Shanaya to Covid. We all fell ill, and I was traumatized after losing our house help, Rekha, to the virus, while doctors advised my mother needed hospitalization.”
Seema continued, “When Maheep developed diabetes after Covid, I felt overwhelming guilt. I thought, ‘Did I give her diabetes?’ I spoke to Sanjay about her hospitalization and reached out daily. Sometimes I even went to the hospital, but Shanaya said, ‘Mum doesn’t want to see anybody,’ and I had to turn back.”
Speaking to the camera, Seema reflected on the guilt she felt after Maheep’s diabetes diagnosis, questioning whether it was a result of the Covid infection and how hard it was to cope with those feelings.
Maheep responded, “I don’t want to play the victim, but my doctor said the diabetes could be a consequence of Covid. I never blamed Seema. I’m an adult and understand there were many misunderstandings. For example, when we were supposed to go to San Francisco together for New Year’s, she opted out, leaving me to go alone with my son. That hurt.”
She continued, “After returning from San Francisco, I confronted Seema because she urged me to resolve our issues. But it was met with ego, leading to a slow disintegration of our friendship. I feel that while Seema has faced challenges, I have too. I’m not trying to cut her out; I’m just dealing with my struggles. The issue seems to be that when things go wrong, we don’t support each other.”
Following much back and forth, with Karan’s guidance, both women agreed to work on healing their friendship through open communication.