Naga Chaitanya, Raj Nidimoru & Samantha: Relationship Timeline

Naga Chaitanya is a leading Telugu actor and entrepreneur, best known for his work in romantic and family dramas, as well as for his highly public personal life involving marriages to Samantha Ruth Prabhu and later Sobhita Dhulipala. His story now intersects with director Raj Nidimoru and Samantha’s second marriage, which has created a new web of interest around all three celebrities.

Naga Chaitanya Overview

• Who is Naga Chaitanya?
  Naga Chaitanya Akkineni (born 23 November 1986) is an Indian actor and entrepreneur who primarily works in Telugu cinema and owns cloud-kitchen brands like Shoyu and Scuzi.
• Who did Samantha marry the first time?
  Samantha Ruth Prabhu first married Naga Chaitanya in October 2017 in destination ceremonies in Goa; they announced their separation and divorce in 2021.
• Who is Samantha’s new husband?
  Samantha is now married to director Raj Nidimoru, known as one half of the “Raj & DK” duo and co‑creator of “The Family Man.”
• Is Naga Chaitanya married now?
  After his divorce from Samantha, Naga Chaitanya married actress Sobhita Dhulipala in an intimate ceremony in Hyderabad/Annapurna Studios in December 2024.
• Is Raj Nidimoru divorced?
  Yes. Raj Nidimoru divorced his ex‑wife Shhyamali De around 2022, after which reports linked him romantically to Samantha.
• What’s the core relationship graph here?
  • Samantha Ruth Prabhu: ex‑wife of Naga Chaitanya → now wife of Raj Nidimoru.
  • Naga Chaitanya: ex‑husband of Samantha → now husband of Sobhita Dhulipala.
  • Raj Nidimoru: ex‑husband of Shhyamali De → now husband of Samantha.

Naga Chaitanya: Biography, Career, And Public Persona

Naga Chaitanya was born into the influential Akkineni film family as the son of Nagarjuna and grandson of Akkineni Nageswara Rao, giving him deep roots in Telugu cinema. Raised between Chennai and Hyderabad, he later studied at St. Mary’s College in Hyderabad before formally training in acting.

He made his acting debut in 2009 and gained popularity with films like “Ye Maaya Chesave,” which also marked the beginning of his real‑life relationship with Samantha. Over time he built a reputation for romantic, family, and intense dramatic roles, while also branching into entrepreneurship with cloud‑kitchen ventures and high‑value brand endorsements.

Samantha Ruth Prabhu And Naga Chaitanya: From Co‑Stars To Ex‑Spouses

Samantha and Naga Chaitanya first met on the sets of “Ye Maaya Chesave” around 2010, where their on‑screen chemistry translated into a real‑life romance. Their relationship evolved over several years, with media and fans branding them a “power couple” of Tollywood well before they officially got engaged.

The couple got engaged in January 2017 and married in October 2017 in two grand ceremonies—one Hindu and one Christian—held in Goa, attended by prominent film families and celebrities. For several years they were one of the most followed celebrity couples in South cinema, with “ChaySam” content dominating entertainment news and social media trends.

Divorce Timeline: “Desperate People Do Desperate Things” And Media Narratives

By 2021, signs of trouble appeared publicly when Samantha dropped “Akkineni” from her social media names, triggering speculation about a rift. On 2 October 2021, just days before their fourth wedding anniversary, the couple issued coordinated statements announcing their separation, requesting privacy while they pursued separate paths.

Some reports later highlighted Naga Chaitanya’s comments asking people not to “treat him like a criminal,” framing the divorce as a personal matter rather than a scandal. Parallel online chatter, cryptic posts, and quotes like “desperate people do desperate things” were widely interpreted by fans as indirect commentary on evolving relationships, though direct attributions often came through ex‑partner social media posts and entertainment portals rather than formal statements. The exact legal and emotional reasons for the divorce have largely remained private, with both sides avoiding detailed public blame.

After ChaySam: Naga Chaitanya, Sobhita Dhulipala, And A Second Marriage

Post‑divorce, Naga Chaitanya was repeatedly linked to actress Sobhita Dhulipala after they reportedly met at a Mumbai OTT event related to his streaming debut. Over nearly two years, sightings and reports suggested a low‑key but serious relationship, culminating in an engagement in August 2024 in Hyderabad.

Multiple sources note that Naga Chaitanya and Sobhita Dhulipala married in an intimate ceremony at Annapurna Studios in December 2024, attended mainly by close family and industry insiders rather than orchestrated as a media spectacle. This second marriage is often presented as a “moving on” phase for Chaitanya after the public scrutiny of his first marriage and divorce.

Samantha’s New Chapter With Raj Nidimoru

Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s professional resurgence post‑divorce included a standout performance in “The Family Man 2,” co‑created by the director duo Raj & DK—Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. Collaboration on major projects and overlapping professional circles reportedly laid the foundation for a deeper personal connection between Samantha and Raj.

By late 2025, multiple entertainment outlets reported that Samantha had “given love a second chance” and married Raj Nidimoru, often describing the ceremony as intimate, contemporary, and very different from her big‑fat‑Goa wedding with Chaitanya. Coverage frames this marriage as part of a broader narrative of personal healing, self‑discovery, and re‑anchoring her life after serious health challenges and the earlier divorce.

Raj Nidimoru: Director, Ex‑Husband, And New Partner

Raj Nidimoru is an Indian filmmaker best known as one half of “Raj & DK,” the duo behind acclaimed projects like “The Family Man,” “Shor in the City,” and India segments of global franchises such as “Citadel.” His professional brand blends genre‑bending storytelling, dark humour, and grounded character work, which significantly boosted Samantha’s pan‑India appeal with her role in “The Family Man 2.”

Raj was married to Shhyamali De, a psychology graduate who has assisted reputed directors like Vishal Bhardwaj and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra; their marriage reportedly began in 2015 and ended in divorce around 2022. Shhyamali’s later cryptic Instagram posts, shared around the time of Raj–Samantha wedding rumours, fuelled a wave of public commentary, including popular quotes interpreted as veiled references to “desperate people” and emotional aftermaths.

Relationship Web: Samantha, Chaitanya, Raj, Sobhita, Shhyamali

Key Relationship Matrix

Media coverage often juxtaposes Samantha’s new marriage with Raj and Chaitanya’s second marriage to Sobhita, deepening public curiosity about “who moved on first” and whether any timelines overlapped. Despite heavy speculation, clear, verified evidence of overlapping relationships is limited; much of the narrative remains shaped by gossip, cryptic posts, and fan interpretation rather than legally documented timelines.

Net Worth, Career Status, And City Associations

Estimates of Naga Chaitanya’s net worth vary across celebrity portals but consistently place him among the better‑paid Telugu stars, thanks to a mix of acting fees, endorsements, and his food‑business ventures. His career remains focused on Telugu cinema, with occasional forays into pan‑India OTT content and brand campaigns targeting urban audiences in cities like Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru.

Samantha’s net worth is typically reported as higher than many of her contemporaries due to her cross‑industry presence (Telugu, Tamil, Hindi OTT), brand endorsements, and entrepreneurial efforts, including fitness and lifestyle ventures. She has professional ties to Coimbatore and other South Indian cities through shoots, brand events, and her spiritual and wellness explorations, which some outlets tie loosely to personal healing after her divorce.

Raj Nidimoru’s net worth is less openly quantified but is inferred to be substantial from his long‑running production banner, OTT deals, and franchise‑level projects. He has contributed creatively across Mumbai, Hyderabad, and international streaming platforms, enhancing Samantha’s image and the Raj & DK brand.

Quotable Insights

These are short, quotable angles you can embed as blockquotes in your article for HARO/outreach. They are written generically so you can adapt them:

1. “In celebrity divorces, the loudest story is rarely the truest one; it’s usually the quiet legal documents and years of silence that reveal how much people have really changed.”
2. “When fans say ‘desperate people do desperate things,’ what they’re often reacting to is not facts but their own discomfort with watching a fairytale end in real time on social media.”
3. “The Samantha–Chaitanya–Raj triangle shows how professional collaborations in high‑pressure OTT projects can morph into deep emotional bonds long after the cameras stop rolling.”
4. “In the age of Instagram Stories, a single cryptic quote from an ex can fuel weeks of speculation, even when none of the principals are willing to go on record.”
5. “In South Indian cinema, pairs such as Samantha and Naga Chaitanya once served as valuable marketing icons, but their separations highlight how unpredictable personal stories can undermine brand value.”
6. “Raj and DK’s style of storytelling not only builds imaginative worlds but also transforms how audiences perceive the actors, as reflected in Samantha’s image after ‘The Family Man’.”
7. “The real power move after a public breakup isn’t a revenge post; it’s quietly rebuilding your career, your health, and your boundaries far from the comment section.”