By Ananya Sharma 
New Delhi, January 18: The Mary Kom Onler Kom divorce controversy appears to have reached a temporary pause. As of Sunday, no new statements, legal actions, or clarifications have come from either side. What continues, instead, is noise. Television debates, social media arguments, and opinionated commentary are still feeding off allegations made earlier this week, even as the two people at the centre of it all remain silent.
The marriage between Mary Kom, one of India’s most recognisable sporting figures, and Onler Kom, ended quietly in 2023. What has unfolded since January 15 has been anything but quiet. In just three days, a long-separated couple has found their private breakdown dissected in public, line by line, with claims serious enough to permanently alter reputations.
For now, there is nothing new. That absence itself is telling.
A Dispute Frozen At Its Most Explosive Point
There was widespread expectation that today might bring legal notices, police complaints, or at least a measured clarification from one side. None arrived. According to multiple media reports, both camps are now said to be following legal advice to stay off the record, at least temporarily.
That has not slowed the conversation outside courtrooms. Clips from past interviews continue to circulate, often stripped of context. Panel discussions repeat the same arguments. Online commentary has hardened into camps.
The dispute is stalled, but the fallout is still very much in motion.
Mary Kom’s Version: Money, Control, And Broken Trust
The current storm began with Mary Kom’s appearance on Aap Ki Adalat on January 15. Calm in tone but unmistakably firm, she laid out allegations that centred on financial misconduct, not infidelity.
She claimed that ₹10 lakh was withdrawn from her accounts without her consent, that properties worth several crores were transferred to Onler Kom’s name, and that loans were taken in her name during a period when she was injured and unable to closely monitor her finances. The injury in question, sustained in 2022, effectively paused her boxing career and, she suggested, left her exposed.
What struck many viewers was the way she framed the breakdown. Not as a sudden collapse, but as a slow erosion of trust over years. After two decades of marriage, she said, these discoveries made continuing impossible.
She did not accuse her former husband of emotional betrayal. Her focus remained squarely on money and autonomy.
Onler Kom’s Response: Sacrifice And Counter-Allegations
Onler Kom’s reply, delivered across interviews on January 16 and 17, shifted the terrain entirely.
He denied all claims of financial wrongdoing. According to him, there were no secret withdrawals or manipulative property transfers. Instead, he presented himself as someone who gave up his own football career to support Mary Kom’s rise, took charge of the household, and focused on raising their four children while she competed globally.
More controversially, he accused Mary Kom of extra-marital relationships, first with a junior boxer in 2013, and later with a staff member associated with the Mary Kom Boxing Academy beginning in 2017. He claimed to have WhatsApp messages as evidence, though none have been released publicly.
His defence leaned heavily on personal sacrifice. Despite being married to a global sports icon, he said, he continues to live in rented accommodation, a detail he cited to counter accusations of financial exploitation.
Children Pulled Into A Very Public Conflict
Perhaps the most unsettling element of Onler Kom’s account involved their children. He claimed they were deeply affected by the alleged affairs and said one son was so angry that he wanted to physically confront the man involved.
Mary Kom has rejected these claims outright, calling them hurtful and unfounded, and criticising the decision to involve children in a public narrative they never chose.
That aspect of the dispute has sparked discomfort even among those otherwise invested in the story. Child rights advocates and legal commentators have warned that publicising such details can leave long-term scars, regardless of where the truth eventually lands.
Silence That Feels Strategic
Today’s quiet is not neutral. It suggests calculation.
Legal experts quoted across national outlets believe both sides now understand that every additional public statement carries risk, particularly if the matter escalates into formal litigation involving finances or defamation. The silence may be a holding pattern while documents are examined and strategies weighed.
At the same time, silence does little to undo what has already been said. The allegations are now embedded online, searchable, shareable, and permanent.
A Personal Dispute That Tapped A Larger Nerve
The reason this story refuses to fade is not just celebrity. It has touched something broader.
Supporters of Mary Kom see a familiar pattern of women athletes facing financial vulnerability within marriage, even at the peak of success. Others argue that Onler Kom’s account exposes the invisible labour of male spouses in relationships where one partner becomes extraordinarily powerful and visible.
There is also a quieter unease about how easily private pain becomes public property once fame is involved. The line between accountability and spectacle has blurred.
What Comes Next Is Likely Off Camera
As of this evening, there are no confirmed legal filings, no police complaints, and no mediation disclosures. If the dispute moves forward, it is expected to do so through courts and lawyers, not prime-time television.
Until then, the Mary Kom Onler Kom controversy remains unresolved, heavy with accusation, light on verification, and impossible to ignore.
For now, the loudest development is the absence of one.
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- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ananya/
