Does Alisha look familiar to you? That’s because we’ve seen her as a model, actress, Miss India Australia finalist and as a contestant on MTV Splitsvilla Season 10. This is the story of how she met her sweetheart Raghav, a music producer who has worked with some of the most popular names in Bollywood.
“I honestly didn’t expect anything out of Aisle. I was surprised to find someone who thinks a lot like me, who likes the things I like and gets my jokes, which is very rare because I have a weird sense of humour and I’m very sarcastic”, says Alisha.
It all started back in 2017 when Alisha’s best friend who was getting married asked her to try out a matrimonial app. Though she agreed and made her profile, she soon found that it wasn’t her cup of tea. After doing a bit of her own research on dating apps, she stumbled upon Aisle and decided to give it a try.
Alisha was grew up in Australia and had come down to India 4 years ago to pursue her career as an actress. She constantly has to shuttle between her work in India and her home in Australia, and this leaves very little room for her to meet people outside her circle. Raghav, on the other hand, being an introvert prefers to spend time with his close friends or by himself. “I think if it weren’t for Aisle, we would have never met even though we work in the same industry!”, Alisha recalls.
After a couple of days on Aisle, Alisha received about 3 invites. “Among those invites there was Raghav’s. He just seemed so genuine and someone I might be able to speak to, so I accepted his invite”, says Alisha.
Raghav too had a similar story of how he ended up on Aisle. Since he was never in a relationship before, his friend urged him to get on Aisle and find a girlfriend before the year ends. The first girl he sent an invite to on Aisle was Alisha. And like a scene from a movie, that invite did the magic.
Since Alisha had just joined a few days before, she was unaware that Raghav could now see her phone number once she had accepted the invite. She was surprised when she got a WhatsApp message from him later that day. Here’s a gist of the conversation they had on that day.
Raghav: Heyy Alisha….Raghav this side
Alisha: How did you get my number?
Raghav: It’s on Aisle. Is there a problem?
Alisha: No I just don’t give my number out until I know someone better.
Raghav: Fair enough. Let me know if you don’t want to chat.
Alisha: What are looking for on Aisle?
Raghav: Just to know and meet new people…maybe something serious…a lot of people are there to get hitched…that’s not what I am looking for right now. What about you?
Alisha: This app is for more sorted people. It’s for serious dating. Aisle is literally the thing people walk down when they get married. If you didn’t know. You said “maybe” something serious. Sooo ya... Just letting you know. I do not want my time wasted.
Raghav: I don’t expect too much when I just start talking to someone so that’s why mentioned “maybe” if things work out. So ya if you can stop being so pissed, we can talk.
Alisha: Lol
Raghav: You good now?
Alisha: Depends
Raghav: On?
Alisha: How you take this forward. What’s your plan for today?
And so began their conversation. Two days later, they had their first phone call that went on for 2 hours. Alisha began feeling comfortable talking to him and it felt like he could understand what she said. On 26th November 2017, they decided on their first date at a Starbucks near her house in Mumbai. “I wanted to see if it would work out, so I thought coffee was a safe bet. But the date went so good and we spoke so much, that we had coffee and went for a movie. Even after that I couldn’t get enough of talking to him so I invited him to my place where we spent the whole night talking. The best part, it didn’t feel like it was the first time we met!”
It didn’t take too long after that for Alisha and Raghav to delete the app from their phones. They kept meeting often and spending time with each other. One day while having dinner Raghav casually asked, “So, it’s been a exactly a month since we met. What do you think this is?” Alisha was not just blown by the fact that he remembered that it’s been a month since they first met in Starbucks, but also found it sweet that he was the one who got the topic up. “I guess that makes us boyfriend and girlfriend?” Exactly after a month of meeting on Aisle, they decided to become exclusive.
The next step for Alisha, was to introduce Raghav to her girlfriends. “I wanted to see if he really took me and this relationship seriously. So I gave a heads-up to my friends that I’d be introducing them to this guy I’m dating.” But Alisha was again wooed when her boyfriend paid more attention to her than her friends all evening and also turned down her friends and danced only with her.
It’s been seven months since, and in Alisha’s words, “we’ve never stopped dating and we celebrate the 26th of every month!”. They believe that breaking up is not an option and they have to work through their issues.
“The best part of the relationship is the comfort level we share with each other. We sometimes end up saying the same things at the same time, like a jinx. Each time we do that, we have made a deal to kiss each other. So that’s our thing!”, she adds.
“I’ve seen many guys in the industry who are either a model or an actor with 6 pack abs and wants all the attention. But I can never have a conversation with any of them”. They both prefer to maintain a low key lifestyle despite their jobs requiring them to socialize and meet many new people. Alisha finds it refreshing to being around a guy who doesn’t cry out for attention, but rather is okay being by himself in the corner of the room while everyone else is fighting for centre stage. She is happy that he is very supportive of her career and dreams, even though they have to stay apart for months together when she has a shoot. “I love that he’s trustworthy, funny, educated and not the typical guy who’s looking for one thing only”, she adds.
They’ve met each other’s parents, and are focusing on their careers at the moment. “We both want to be independent and stable before we make any future decisions and once that is done we hope maybe we could settle down in Australia for good”. Being travel junkies at heart, they hope to go explore the world together some day.
Aisle wishes Alisha and Raghav a lifetime of happiness, together.
