'I knew I had to be strong for my children'

For anyone in search of a blueprint on how to navigate life after divorce, there can be no better example than actor Ismat Zaidi, whose 23-year marriage dissolved after another woman entered the equation. In a recent appearance on a local news outlet, the Radd actor shed light on how she found the strength to keep a stiff upper lip after her marriage fell apart.

"I got married at 19," revealed Ismat. "Yes, there were adjustment problems, like there are in all relationships, but my marriage was going well for 23 years - and then my husband remarried. I was left all alone."

Despite the devastating emotional blow, Ismat noted that she could not afford to fall apart. "Instead of crying, I knew I had to be strong for my children," she stressed. "What kind of an impact would it have on them if they saw me crying all the time?"

The urge to keep a steady front for her teenage children was a major reason Ismat had ignored the warning bells that had appeared towards the end of her marriage. "I knew that there was another woman in his life, but I never thought he would leave us for her," she lamented. "You know, people say that if a woman reacts, it will push a man towards another woman - so I didn't show any reaction, even though I knew what was going on. People say if you just keep quiet, nothing will happen. But it still happened."

Ismat added that her children were not the only reason she had to put on a brave face. "I also worried about my parents," she explained. "If I let my true emotions show and let them see how stressed I was, it would only stress them out even more, so I didn't let anything show."

The result of masking her emotional turmoil led Ismat's loved ones to believe that the divorce had no impact on her at all. "They were all surprised that I was absolutely fine - only I know what I went through!" exclaimed Ismat.

The one takeaway Ismat has from her experiences is how crucial it is to be mentally and emotionally strong. "I always tell other women to be strong," stated Ismat firmly. "Life will always throw problems at you, and you need to be able to deal with them yourself."