'She was having an affair with a junior boxer': Mary Kom's husband responds to boxer's divorce comments

Mary Kom’s ex-husband Karung Onkholer, also known as Onler, has hit back strongly at the Olympic medalist’s recent claims about their divorce. He rejected Mary’s allegations of financial cheating and instead made some serious counterclaims about her personal life.

Onler dismissed Mary Kom’s accusations that she was cheated of crores of rupees and lost land bought with her own money. He said the claims are false and questioned why there is no documentary proof to support them. According to him, the problems in their marriage began more than a decade ago and were not related to money.

Onler refutes Mary Kom’s claims

Speaking to news agency IANS, Onler alleged that Mary Kom had an extramarital affair in 2013 with a junior boxer, which caused tensions between their families. He claimed that the issue was later settled after a compromise. He further alleged that since 2017, Mary Kom has been in a relationship with someone associated with the Mary Kom Boxing Academy.

“I will talk about what she told Lok Adalat. Firstly, in 2013, she was having an affair with a junior boxer. Our families had a fight, and after that, we compromised. And since 2017, she’s been having a relationship (with someone) working at the Mary Kom Boxing Academy. I have their WhatsApp messages as proof. I have proof, with the name of the person with whom she was having an affair. I remained silent,” Onler said.

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Onler said he has no objection to Mary Kom moving on with her life but strongly objected to being publicly blamed. “She wanted to stay alone and have another relationship. We’re divorced. I don’t mind if she wants to have another husband. But don’t ever blame me. And if she’s to blame me, bring the proof; get the papers. I know where she lives and with whom,” he said.

He also questioned the claims that he had taken or stolen large sums of money. Onler said his current lifestyle does not match the allegations. “She mentioned the property and asked my name to be erased. She said I stole 5 crores. Check my account. For 18 years of marriage, we were together. And then, this? She’s mad. I had been living with her for 18 years. What am I having? Look at my house. I’m staying in a rented house in Delhi. She’s a celeb. Whatever she says, some will listen, and some won’t,” he asked.

Mary Kom’s allegations

Mary Kom and Onler got married in 2005 and have four children together. The couple divorced in 2023. These statements come days after Mary Kom accused Onler of cheating her financially and mortgaging property without her knowledge. Speaking to PTI, she said she made a mistake by trusting Onler with her finances.

“I have been called greedy by people who know nothing about what I went through. Yes, I am now separated from my husband Onler and it all happened more than two years ago. Things were fine till I was competing and had very little involvement in my finances but when I got injured before the 2022 Commonwealth Games, I realised I was living a lie,” Mary Kom said.

“I was bed-ridden for several months, needed a walker after that. It was then that I realised that the man I had trusted was not what I believed him to be. I did not want it to be a spectacle for the world so I sought a divorce after several attempts to resolve it between us,” she continued.

“I informed my family and his family that it cannot continue and they understood. I was hoping that it would stay private but then a concerted attempt has been made to slander me for the last one year. I thought I would not respond but then my silence was being misread and the attacks kept increasing,” she added.

“He kept taking loans, mortgaging my property which he transferred in his name. He borrowed money from locals in Churachandpur and to recover it from him, they have seized the land through underground groups,” she said.

“…there are news reports that call me the greedy one, who forced him to contest elections (2022 in Manipur). I did not do any of it. Things which were only discussed between me and him are being fed to tabloids to paint me as the villain and my character is being questioned. I had to react at some point,” she said.