Here are two souls who crossed paths as teenagers, bonded over shared dreams, and danced their way into each other’s hearts. Let’s trace their journey from innocent teenage dates to now travelling the world together as a married couple. Actress Chandini Tamilarasan and choreographer GV Nanda’s love story is almost like a fairytale with a happy ending.

Firstly, how did the two of you meet?
We met at a dance company and he was my dance teacher. I was in my tenth grade in school when I first met him. I learnt dancing with him for three years.

What was your first impression of each other?
His first impression about me that I was very chubby and I found him to be very cute.

Who admitted their feelings first?
After I finished my 12th grade when I got my results, we met outside of a dance studio. That was the first time we went out to a coffee shop. After that we went on a couple of dates. Those were just friendly platonic dates and after a few months, we both realised that we had fallen in love with each other. He made the first move and confessed his love.

Tell us some memorable moments about your dating days.
It was a beautiful phase when I had just finished school and was getting into college. We used to hang out a lot on coffee dates and bike rides. Those days will always be memorable. Also, we would go out for movies. We would wait desperately to meet each other and could meet only once a month because I was busy with my college and my shoots. As our relationship got closer and things took a serious turn, we started hanging out every week watching every film that came out in movie theatres together. At one point, we were watching a film every single day of the week in theatres. During Diwali and Pongal releases, we would watch four films in a day. I miss those days. Now it’s watching movies at home as OTT is a big part of our lives, but those days of coffee and movie dates will always be memorable.

How did the marriage proposal happen?
There was no such formal proposal that happened as we both knew that we were in love and would definitely take it to the next level. So, the moment our relationship got serious, we were already discussing marriage. We had already started planning on how we would get married and how we would move into our own space. We always dreamt about the Sangeet ceremony and the wedding ceremonies. We are glad that our wedding happened just how we had manifested it to happen.

What does love mean to you?
Love is difficult to define in one sentence but for me it’s about respecting each other and putting someone else’s feeling before yours.

How has your relationship evolved over the years?
I have known him for almost half of my life. From being a young girl to being a young woman now, we have evolved a lot. Initially we used to fight a lot and not speak to each other for days. There were a lot of differences like any other couple who get into a relationship would have, but now we have become stronger as a couple. The bond is better and we understand each other well now. The fights have almost become zero. Touchwood! There’s hardly anything we fight about now. Yes, there are differences of opinion, but we sort them out with a discussion within a couple of minutes. One major change is that earlier we wouldn’t talk to each other after a fight for many days but now we don’t stay without each other for even a couple of minutes and have learnt to patch up our differences with healthy discussions. We are in a beautiful phase of our relationship right now and I’m very happy about it.

What’s the best thing about being married?
It feels very surreal as he was my first love. I had an attraction towards him the moment I saw him and he did too. So, from that point to being married now and having our own life and our own space, we feel so blessed and happy. I think we made the best decisions of our lives. It feels so nice to just come back to our own house together. During our dating days, we used to feel so much pain after our coffee or movie date, when we both had to go back to our respective homes. It’s nice to be married and to create and live the life that we have always dreamt of.

What’s something that you learnt about marriage after getting married, something that people don’t usually know or talk about?
In a healthy marriage, you have to give people their own space. You live under one roof and sometimes we forget that our spouse needs their own space. Sometimes we ourselves need our own space. So, everyone needs their own time, mentally and physically. Space to Just be by yourself or with their own set of friends and family. It’s overlooked sometimes after a marriage and that is something I want to tell everyone. Take your space and time for yourself and don’t feel guilty about it. Also, marriage and love is about two people wanting to live their life together while wanting to make the relationship work. It only works if both want to make it work and put in equal amount of time and effort. Need not necessarily be 50-50 all the time, the ratio may change from 70-30 to 60-40 sometimes, but both involved have to put in something. It has to be about both giving and taking. The more you give you have to take as well. I strongly believe that a happy and successful relationship is about two people and both people should take the credit to make it work. It cannot happen with just one person working on it.

Describe him in three words.
He describes me as funny, intelligent and a good wife and I would describe him as kind, funny and also very caring.

What’s your partner’s best traits?
He is extremely supportive and my biggest cheerleader. He cracks the best jokes on a bad day and is very happy as a person as well. He likes my resilient nature and that I’m very strong as a person. What he likes about me and this is what he always says is that I’m very loyal and thoughtful as a person.

What’s the most annoying thing about your partner?
Sometimes when I talk he doesn’t reply. Most of the times he is silent. I get annoyed with that. Even when we fight he tries to keep quiet. Sometimes I wish he conveys what he feels as it is tough to read his mind. And for him I guess what annoys him is that I talk a little too much.

What fun activities do you enjoy doing as a couple?
We love going on long drives, experimenting different kinds of food and watching a lot of stuff on OTT together. We also love travelling and love to plan the whole trip by ourselves. We love beaches and exploring romantic restaurants by the beach.

Do you have a bucket list as a couple – the things you want to do as a couple?
We would love to travel as much as we can. We have tried our best to manage atleast two good holidays a year and have been consistent about it. We want to travel to atleast 100 countries together.

Who apologises first after a fight?
Mostly it’s him. Guys make the mistake so they should apologise. If I have made a mistake then I say sorry.

Places you’ve travelled to and destinations on your wish list.
We have travelled to 13 countries so far as a couple. There’s a whole list of countries that we want to visit. We just came back from Japan and our next trip would be to Bali.

Any relationship advice for younger couples and those in the dating phase?
Communicate openly and honestly with your partner. Spend quality time and know each other well. Prioritise each other and be supportive of each other. And in all this do not lose your individuality. Also don’t forget to keep the spark alive. Try to resolve conflicts in a healthy manner. Keep that fun element alive to keep it all light and fun, yet be honest and happy.

What are your upcoming film projects?
I’m currently shooting for films titled Vallan and then there is Fire with Balaji Murugadoss. There’s also Suzhal 2 and another one called Perusu under Stone Bench Productions, with Nutty and Srikanth. Nanda is busy with choreography for films in Tamil and Telugu.