The tables turned fast on the Koffee With Karan Season 9 set. Host Karan Johar usually spends his hours prying into the private lives of Bollywood couples, but during the Koffee Shots round, guests Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani aimed the spotlight right back at him. Sidharth did not mince words, asking Johar outright why his past romantic sparks never turned into enduring partnerships.
"Why didn't you make it a solid relationship? You think you have commitment phobia?" Sidharth asked across the table. Drawing on an earlier season of the talk show, the actor added a sharper point: "I want to say on your last season of Koffee, Karan is the most commitment-phobic person I know." Kiara nodded along without hesitation, confirming her husband's assessment: "That is true." Johar did not dispute the diagnosis. He simply reframed it.
Johar drew a firm line between personal loyalty and romantic entanglements. He can commit without flinching to longtime friendships and parenthood, but romantic interest triggers a swift exit.
I can commit to friendship and parenthood, but a relationship, I don't like anybody who likes me. It comes from low self-esteem issues. The moment anybody says I am really into you. I want to spend time with you. I want to meet you. I am like, 'Toodles!'
Johar laughed off the admission, yet the pattern runs deep. The reflex to vanish the second reciprocity enters the room has defined decades of his personal life, turning romance into an immediate non-starter.
None of this came out of nowhere. In an extended 2024 discussion with Faye D'Souza, Johar revealed he had navigated just "one and a half relationships" across his entire lifetime. The desire for a companion evolved sharply as he aged.
| Milestone & Factor | Details Disclosed by Karan Johar |
|---|---|
| Total Lifetime Relationships | Disclosed having "one and a half" in his entire life |
| Turning Age 40 | Felt an acute vacuum and actively sought a partner |
| Turning Age 50 | Shifted to complete contentment with singlehood |
| Search Efforts | Tried matchmaking agencies and blind dates across India and abroad |
| Family Priorities | Single parent to twins Yash and Roohi, welcomed via surrogacy in 2017 |
While the absence of a long-term partner stung when he entered his forties, the urgency evaporated by the time he crossed fifty. His domestic schedule belongs entirely to himself, anchored strictly by his mother, Hiroo Johar, and his twins, Yash and Roohi, whom he welcomed via surrogacy in 2017.
"I can't tell you how much I enjoy my single status," Johar stated earlier. "Forget sharing a bathroom or bedroom or your space or schedule, I think the power of your day is with you. Your responsibility is to your children and your mom, that's about it." He ran the full gamut—matchmaking agencies, blind dates across India, setups abroad. Today, he no longer chases the prospect, leaving the door unlocked but entirely unattended.