Former beauty queen and Bollywood actress Celina Jaitly has shared a deeply emotional and raw update regarding her ongoing legal battles and painful separation from her children. Caught in a highly complex, multi-jurisdictional divorce and custody dispute spanning India and Austria with her estranged husband, Austrian businessman Peter Haag, the actress posted a nostalgic throwback video of her three sons, Winston, Viraaj, and Arthur. In a vulnerable open letter, Jaitly rejected the common societal trope that “trauma builds strength,” detailing how the painful situation has repeatedly broken her and left invisible scars. This emotional outcry comes closely on the heels of the Mumbai Police registering an FIR against Haag under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for alleged domestic cruelty, physical violence and criminal intimidation.
Celina Jaitly shares throwback video with her sons
The actress posted an old video on Instagram showing herself enjoying time with her sons during happier times. The clip carried a text overlay expressing her yearning to be reunited with her children, which read, “I never thought broken pieces could be shattered until I saw my heart. Miss you, my 3 sons. I wait for divine intervention to have you 3 back again in my life.”’
Celina Jaitly says trauma did not make her strong
Alongside the video, Celina wrote a lengthy note reflecting on how trauma has shaped her life and the ongoing effort involved in healing from emotional pain. She opened by pushing back against the common notion that suffering inevitably builds strength. “The strongest people are usually the ones who are still breaking. People call me strong. But pain & trauma did not make me strong. They broke me, over & over again, until I had no choice but to learn how to heal myself,” she wrote.
Celina Jaitly on healing being an ongoing process
The actress went on to explain that healing isn’t something that happens just once. She shared that even when she feels she has found her footing again, painful memories tend to resurface unexpectedly, reopening wounds she thought had closed. During such times, she said she chooses to withdraw from the surrounding noise and focus on getting through the pain rather than avoiding it. By allowing herself that space, she slowly picks up the broken pieces and starts the healing process afresh.Celina went on to say that trauma had robbed her of parts of her identity, leaving behind wounds that aren’t visible to others. She noted that while people tend to attribute her resilience to the hardships she’s faced, she views it differently. “Trauma did not build me. It broke me. It stole parts of me, left scars no one can see, & made me grieve versions of myself that I can never fully get back. The strength people admire was never born from the pain. It came from me,” she wrote.In closing, the actress noted that real strength comes from repeatedly choosing to heal, even while still carrying emotional pain. She added that the strongest individuals aren’t those who never break down, but those who continue finding the courage to put themselves back together, even amid ongoing hurt.
Celina Jaitly’s marriage and custody battle with Peter Haag
Jaitly tied the knot with Austrian businessman Peter Haag in 2010, having stepped back from mainstream Bollywood before the marriage. The couple went on to have twin sons in 2012 and welcomed a second set of twins in 2017, though one of the babies sadly did not survive beyond birth. Reports last year suggested that Peter Haag had filed for divorce in an Austrian court. Celina has since said that even with joint custody in place, she has been unable to reach her three sons Winston, Arthur and Viraaj with the custody dispute also unfolding alongside separate legal proceedings.
FIR filed against Peter Haag
In a recent development, Mumbai Police filed an FIR against Peter Haag after Celina lodged a complaint against him. As per reports, he has been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for alleged physical violence, cruelty, criminal intimidation and continued harassment.
