Who Is Kunal Nayyar’s Wife? All About Neha Kapur
Neha Kapur and Kunal Nayyar in 2016.
Photo: Sara Jaye Weiss/Shutterstock
Emmy-winning sitcom The Big Bang Theory ran for 12 seasons, but when the show’s actor Kunal Nayyar met his future wife, Neha Kapur, she hadn’t seen a single episode.
Despite Kapur’s lack of knowledge of the British star’s famed role as Raj Koothrappali, it may have been love at first sight for Nayyar.
“My first thought was, This is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he told Glamour in 2017. “My second thought was, She’s way out of my league.”
Years after their initial meeting, the couple married on Dec. 22, 2011. The nuptials were celebrated in a traditional Indian wedding that spanned six days in front of 1,000 guests. The weeklong festivities, which Nayyar told PEOPLE were “quite hectic,” included an exchange of vows, a garland ritual and henna tattoos.
While Nayyar previously admitted to PEOPLE that they’re a “very private” couple, in 2021 the pair marked their 10th wedding anniversary with heartfelt Instagram posts.
“We may be unconventional, but I remembered how we promised to not live our lives according to someone else’s version of it,” Nayyar wrote. “Cheers to you, champion, partner, best friend. Whatever is to come, I am lucky we have tomorrow.”
She’s a former beauty queen
Neha Kapur and Kunal Nayyar.
Neha Kapur Instagram
Kapur is no stranger to the world of beauty pageants: In 2006, she was crowned Miss India in the prestigious pageant of the same name.
Running for 72 years and counting, the Miss India pageant annually selects representatives to compete in Miss World, one of the Big Four major international beauty pageants. Miss India is run by Femina, which is the oldest women’s English magazine in the country.
Also in the same year, she represented India at the Miss Universe 2006 pageant in Los Angeles.
Kapur attended design school
The former Miss India has a passion for design. Taking her creativity to the classroom, Kapur graduated from New Delhi’s Pearl Academy with a bachelor’s degree in fashion design.
“My parents are one of the strongest pillars in my life. They were very supportive of me from the beginning,” she told Indian website FashionFad. “They never asked me questions about why I was doing this or how I’m doing this.”
Kapur continued, “They always inspire me to leave no stone unturned and achieve all of my dreams. They were my support system through all of it and they still are.”
She launched her own luxury fashion brand
Kunal Nayyar and Neha Kapur in 2018.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
In 2016, Kapur debuted her luxury fashion brand Hensely, which featured sophisticated designs in luxe fabrics. With an earthy, neutral-toned color palette, the pieces could be styled for any occasion, from the simple everyday to a special event.
“[I wanted to create] something that was fluid, and really easy, that did not conform to any trends,” she told Vogue. “My upbringing was classical in terms of music and Indian dance — how my parents were at home.”
Kapur added, “I wanted to put together something that mixed my Eastern sensibility with something that had a kind of storytelling behind it. I wanted it to be not just a classic brand. I wanted it to have that extra niche.”
She and Nayyar met at the opening of a bar
Kunal Nayyar and Neha Kapur.
Neha Kapur Instagram
In 2015, Nayyar published a book of essays, My Accent Is Real, in which he opened up about his upbringing in India, making the move to the U.S. and getting cast in a sitcom. He also felt that the story of “how this nerdy guy came to marry a beautiful former Miss India” was too good to leave out.
” ‘She’s an ex-Miss India. You need to meet her,’ said my cousin,” he wrote, recalling a visit to New Delhi for Christmas in 2008. ” ‘Ex? Can’t you introduce me to the current one?’ I joked.”
There were several attempts to set up a date over the next week, and Nayyar and Kapur eventually met.
“We talked about our childhoods in New Delhi. Gradually, I think she could tell I was not a creep and she began to open up,” he added. “There was something beautiful about the rawness of her emotion. I had known her for two hours, and I was getting hooked.”
They made their red carpet debut in 2011
Neha Kapur and Kunal Nayyar in 2011.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty
The actor and fashion designer stepped out on the red carpet together while attending the InStyle and Warner Bros Golden Globes afterparty in January 2011 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel. Kapur wore a light pink dress while walking with Nayyar.
She and Nayyar were in a long-distance relationship while dating
During the early days of them being together, the couple were dating in an unconventional way.
Navigating the highs and lows of a long-distance relationship, Kapur lived in her native New Delhi while Nayyar resided in Los Angeles. After getting married, Kapur packed up and moved over to the U.S., moving in with her then-new husband.
She and Nayyar’s former home has a Selling Sunset tie
Neha Kapur and Kunal Nayyar.
Neha Kapur Instagram
The couple previously resided in a pink 1948 Spanish-style compound in the star-studded Nichols Canyon neighborhood of L.A. PEOPLE reported that the stunning home first hit the market in June 2020, with the Los Angeles Times writing that it had sold for $3.895 million.
According to the Times, the property was only on the market for 11 days, and the buyers were represented by Mary Fitzgerald and Jason Oppenheim of the Oppenheim Group, best known for Netflix’s hit series reality real estate series Selling Sunset.
In the past, Nayyar had indicated that he planned to stay in that home forever. “If we’re fortunate enough, until the day we die, we’re never going to sell this house,” he told Architectural Digest in 2017. “It’s going to be in our family for generations.”
She’s a model
Neha Kapur in 2010.
Ramesh Sharma /The India Today Group/Getty
Kapur has dabbled in the modeling world throughout her career, having been previously signed to Elite Models. She graced the covers of Harper’s Bazaar India, Vogue India and Femina, along with starring in advertisements for brands such as Red Tape, Malini Ramani, Pantaloons and Sunsilk.
She received a compliment from Kate Middleton
Neha Kapur and Kunal Nayyar in 2017.
Matt Dunham – WPA Pool/Getty
In 2017, Nayyar gave fans a glimpse into his meeting with the British royal family, which Kapur attended alongside him.
The actor and his wife visited Buckingham Palace in February for a reception to celebrate the start of 2017’s UK-India Year of Culture, which was attended by Prince William, Kate Middleton and the late Queen Elizabeth II.
“We went to London to meet the Queen, and I was playing it off as ‘whatever,’ but I was actually very nervous inside,” Nayyar admitted during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “As soon as she enters, I begin to have the worst panic attack of my life. I start thinking, ‘Oh, there’s the Queen. I’m going to faint. Why am I going to faint? I’ve never fainted in my life.’ ”
The pair got to chat with all three of the Royals, with the Princess of Wales giving Kapur a heartfelt compliment.
“Princess Kate told my wife that she’s beautiful,” he noted. “But she didn’t say anything to me.”