A day after tying the knot with fashion entrepreneur Rupali Barua, actor Ashish Vidyarthi posted a video message on Instagram explaining why he chose to marry a second time.

The actor, who has over the past several years made a name as a food vlogger, said he and his former wife, Rajoshi Barua aka Piloo, decided to split after two decades of marriage with a lot of “grace and a degree of ease”.

“Twenty-two years ago Piloo and I met and we got married and it was an amazing one. We had Arth (son)... But somehow, over the last few years, Piloo and I discovered that after this beautiful innings we played together, how we saw the future was slightly different from one another. Yes, the differences could be sorted out but it would be in a way that one of us would impose on the other and that would take away from our happiness. We both sat down and decided that if we can’t walk together amicably, let’s walk separately and remain amicable,” said the veteran actor.

Vidyarthi said they took the decision after much deliberation and only after discussing it with their son, families and friends. He stressed that he did not want to pretend to be happy in the marriage, unlike a lot of married couples who choose to compromise.

The Drohkaal actor also stressed that he was clear about getting married again as he wanted someone to travel with. “That’s how I met Rupali… I was 55 at that point. We started chatting… and we thought that we could be walking together as husband and wife. She is 50 and I am 57, not 60! Age doesn’t come in between happiness. We can dream at any age. Let’s respect each other’s life and happiness and give space,” said Vidyarthi, who married Rupali in a low-key affair at The Tollygunge Club in Kolkata on May 25.

Rupali is the owner of the fashion enterprise Nameg and co-owner of Cafe Na-ru-meg. Here’s a video of Vidyarthi the foodie digging into a spread at the south Kolkata hangout.