“There was never a disconnect between us, that was a big lie,” Shamoon Abbasi on his relationship with daughter Anzela Abbasi

Actor speaks on his relationship with his daughter, explains wedding absence and urges family matters remain private

Senior actor Shamoon Abbasi recently spoke about his relationship with his ex-wife Javeria Abbasi and their daughter, Anzela Abbasi, during an appearance on Ahmed Ali Butt’s podcast Excuse Me. While discussing the issue, Abbasi said he is generally against talking about personal matters on public platforms but felt compelled to respond to what has already been said about him. 

“What does it mean by being there?” Abbasi said. “If you talk about Anzela’s mother, we were together for 13 years. I don’t need to tell what I did for my family. We were responsible for each other.”

He clarified that he was never physically absent from his daughter’s life. “I was never apart from my daughter; we were always nearby. I was living in Pakistan, not abroad,” he said.

Abbasi added that he began noticing emotional distance over time. “There were no birthday wishes, no New Year wishes, there was no response, especially from a kid who has a mobile all the time,” he said. Addressing questions about financial support, he remarked, “Do I need to show bills of whatever I did for her?”

According to him, the distance was still not rooted in hostility. “Me and Anzela were never on bad terms, but the distance became strange,” he said. Even then, he maintained that there was never a complete breakdown in their relationship. “There was never a disconnect between us; that was a big lie,” Abbasi said.

Still, he expressed hope for open conversations in the future. “Maybe we could have a heart-to-heart conversation on a few things, and talk like friends,” he said, adding that circumstances made it difficult for him to stay involved.

Abbasi also addressed social media speculation of his absence from Anzela’s wedding. “I didn’t attend her wedding because of an accident, I had surgery for three days,” he said. “I had a conversation with my daughter and she was okay with it but it became a fuss on the internet.”

Commenting on his former wife and daughter’s lives now, Abbasi said, “They are both living a better life than me. They travel and are doing great, they can afford everything, so there is no argument left for me. Also, it makes me happy.” 

However, he requested that his name not be discussed publicly. “My advice to them is to stop discussing me. It takes away from their professional achievements,” he said.

Abbasi reiterated his discomfort with podcasts being used to discuss private lives. “I am against people discussing their lives deeply on podcasts,” he said. “I don’t want myself to be portrayed as a villain, so I have to respond.” 

His remarks come alongside past statements by actor Javeria Abbasi, who has been vocal about her life after divorce. In earlier interviews, she asked people to stop pitying her for being a single mother, saying, “I can give my child a great life from whatever I earn. I don’t need a man.”

In a separate talk show appearance, Javeria also spoke about the unconventional family dynamic between her and Shamoon, explaining that they became step-siblings after her mother and Shamoon’s father married. “People get really confused with this story,” she said, adding that the situation had often been misunderstood.

The former couple married young — Javeria at 17 and Shamoon at 22 — and later divorced, continuing to co-parent their daughter. As both actors speak from their own perspectives, their comments once again highlight how personal histories within the entertainment industry often become public conversations.