Sara (right) and Bigg Boss contestant Veena Malik at Ashmit Patel’s birthday bash in Mumbai last weekend

It was all a TRP stunt, after all. Barely two months after they became man and wife on the sets of Bigg Boss, Sara Khan and Ali Merchant have called it quits! Reason? Ali has cited incompatibility with his in-laws while Sara has accused her husband of two months of “misusing” her money.

“Yes, Sara and I have decided to separate. After the show, we realised that things were no longer the same between us,” Ali told t2 over phone from Mumbai.

Sara has remained tight-lipped over the issue but it was apparently the Bidaai girl who decided to end the marriage. “Sara’s parents never accepted me as a son-in-law, though my family loved her and gave her all the respect that a daughter-in-law deserves. Even on Bigg Boss, it was only her maamu (uncle) who turned up for our wedding from her side. Her parents refused to attend,” said Ali.

At the time of the wedding, Sara’s parents had even claimed that the two had married two years ago.

Even Bigg Boss participants Rahul Bhatt and Manoj Tiwari had claimed that the Ali-Sara marriage was fake. “I have second thoughts whether the marriage is going to be for real at all. They are just doing it to win the show,” Bhatt had told t2 after being evicted from Bigg Boss.

“I know that everyone kept pointing fingers at us saying that the marriage on Bigg Boss was a publicity stunt and that we had been paid Rs 50 lakh for it. But anyone who knows me will vouch for the fact that I am a clean and honest guy who will never put up my personal life for sale,” said Ali who has now shifted back to his parents’ house.

But what about Sara’s claims that Ali misused her money while she was still in the Bigg Boss house? “I don’t need her money. I come from a far richer family than Sara’s. She is being misled by people who she thinks are her friends but in reality they just want to take advantage of her,” claimed Ali.

Would that include Bigg Boss finalist Ashmit Patel whom Sara got close to on the show and was seen partying with last weekend? “Samajhdaar ko ishaara hi kaafi hai,” said Ali.

And what about whispers that even the split is a publicity stunt to gain attention around Sara’s entry into Zee TV soap Ram Milayee Jodi? “You will have to ask Sara. I am no longer with her,” signed off Ali.

Good riddance.