Maria Goretti details her journey of losing and rediscovering her identity, saying, ‘After being home for so long, I think somewhere I lost myself. I had nothing.’
Key Points
- Maria Goretti, a prominent ’90s VJ, candidly discussed how motherhood led her to step away from the spotlight and feel disconnected from her former self.
- Despite her independent career, Maria noted that she is still often identified as ‘Mrs Arshad Warsi,’ a label she has worked to transcend.
- Today, she has reinvented herself as a chef, food storyteller, and author, defining her identity on her own terms.
Maria Goretti, one of the most familiar faces of Indian television in the 1990s and now a chef, food storyteller and author, has spoken candidly about how motherhood transformed her life.
Appearing on The Aditi Govitrikar Show, Maria reflected on stepping away from the spotlight, losing a part of herself, and eventually discovering a new identity through food and poetry.
‘I never needed to be arm candy to anyone’
Long before social media influencers became the norm, Maria Goretti connected with audiences simply by being herself, making her one of the most recognisable faces on television.
In 1999, Maria married Arshad Warsi, and since then has often been introduced as ‘Mrs Arshad Warsi’, a label, she says, that continues to follow her even today.
‘I am still referred to as Mrs Arshad Warsi. When I am standing next to him people ask me, ‘Aap unke wife hai?” Maria said on the show.
This, even though she had built an independent career before her marriage.
‘I did my own work and created my own space. I never needed to be arm candy to anyone. Neither did Warsi think I needed to be arm candy,’ she said.
‘After being home for so long, I think somewhere I lost myself’
Motherhood, Maria Goretti admitted, brought unexpected changes.
After spending years at home raising her family, she felt disconnected from the confident woman she once was.
‘After being home for so long, I think somewhere I lost myself. I had nothing,’ she shared.
Maria also spoke about missing the financial independence she once enjoyed.
‘I miss making money. The kind of money that I commanded at one point of time that’s not available to me anymore,’ she said.
She also discovered that much of her confidence came from being in front of the camera.
‘I realised that I became very brave when I had camera next to me. But without that, I was very quiet. I couldn’t make friends and actually, was quite an introvert,’ she said.
A New Chapter: Food and Poetry
Instead of returning to television, Maria Goretti found fresh purpose in food and writing.
‘Food and poetry were an outlet for me. They gave me a brand new way to live. They gave me a brand new identity. There is never an ending to me. There are many layers and they are just unexplored,’ she said.
Photograph curated by Anant Salvi/Rediff
