Before marrying Ankita Konwar in 2018, actor-model Milind Soman was in a long-term relationship with actor Shahana Goswami. In a recent podcast with Siddharth Kannan, Shahana spoke candidly about their relationship, how it began unexpectedly, and why the two eventually decided to part ways despite still loving each other, reports the Indian Express.ALSO READ: Who is Shahana Goswami?Shahana Goswami became “obsessed” with Milind Soman Recalling how she first became a fan of Milind Soman, Shahana shared that she was still in school when she watched his 2003 film Rules: Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula.“When I was 16-17 years old, I was in Delhi and one of Milind’s film (Rules: Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula) had released at that time. My school friends and I went to see that film. I also thought why are we going to watch a model’s film? It would have very bad acting, but I was mesmerised by Milind in the film. He acted very well. The film was also very sweet.”She further revealed that she tried to find his address online to send him letters, but instead came across his landline number.“After the film, I was obsessed with him. See how destiny played. I was trying to find his address on the internet to send letters, and I came across his landline number. During that time, my father had gifted me a cellphone, which was very uncommon to receive at my age. Milind had left his cellphone number on his answering machine. I texted him and wished him on his birthday, and he immediately replied.”Shahana and Milind only texted for six years before datingShahana said that despite their first interaction, they did not speak on calls for years and mostly stayed connected through messages.“We had an interaction on text for six years, never spoke over call. Basically, I was a stalker fan, but whenever I even used to write letters to him, it was me trying to connect with the person. I never wrote I love him like a crazy fan.”She added that after moving to Mumbai for college, they met only a few times before eventually getting together.“I moved to Mumbai for college, and we met only three times. We bumped into each other. Six years later, at some point when we both were single, I messaged him and then we started dating.”Shahana Goswami says their 21-year age gap never bothered herWhen asked whether the 21-year age difference between them was ever an issue, Shahana said she never felt uncomfortable about it.“I never felt so at that time. I was always way more mature than my age. We were always very open in my family as well. We had friendship more than parenthood, so we used to share everything with our parents and talk about everything. I always felt like an adult from when I was a kid.”She also said that the age gap clearly did not bother Milind either, considering his current marriage with Ankita Konwar, who is 26 years younger than him.“I didn’t feel the age difference in that sense. I learnt a lot from him, like he used to say, ‘Nobody is responsible for your happiness or sadness.’ That was a very important lesson and I feel like it resonated with me.”“We were still in love”: Why Shahana Goswami and Milind Soman broke upOpening up about their breakup in 2013, Shahana said the separation happened because they eventually realised they wanted different things in life.“It’s just about timing. Till the very end, we were in love with each other. When you see that a relationship is not able to sync, you have to let it go.”“I was in a phase of realising that I am not someone who can be in a conventional relationship. I believe in love very deeply but I believe in freedom. I have learnt over time that if you keep people trapped with yourself, that’s not love. Let them be.”“That was also a difference between us. It was a natural realisation that we are no longer compatible. We have a lot of love for each other but we don’t want the same things in the relationship.”Shahana Goswami says she moved on quickly after the breakupWhen asked how long it took her to move on from the breakup, Shahana said she found clarity quite soon because she was already living life on her own terms.“In a sense, immediately, because I was living the life I wanted to live. At that time, I felt that maybe relationships aren’t for me. The formula of relationships doesn’t suit me.”