For years, Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda mastered the art of saying almost everything without actually saying very much.
There were holiday pictures with suspiciously similar backdrops, family
gatherings, airport sightings and the occasional public interaction that sent fans into detective mode. Then came the long-awaited wedding. Now, with the couple increasingly willing to talk about their relationship, there is finally a little more context to the romance that had kept the internet guessing for years.
In their latest conversation with Prakhar Gupta, Rashmika and Vijay spoke about their relationship, communication and the small everyday efforts that matter after the grand gestures are over. Rashmika revealed that she tells Vijay “I love you” frequently, while Vijay spoke about his idea of being protective and “possessive” of his wife, something he framed around her career, health, happiness and safety rather than jealousy.
But their relationship did not begin with a declaration of love. In fact, if their latest recollections are anything to go by, their first meeting was considerably less romantic.
How Did Vijay Meet Rashmika?
Rashmika and Vijay first worked together on ‘Geetha Govindam’, which released in 2018. The film became a major success, and their chemistry quickly became one of its talking points. But Vijay recently recalled that his first interaction with Rashmika on set was hardly charming. He bluntly asked her to turn off the music she was playing, an incident that left the then-newcomer upset. Rashmika recalled that she was sensitive at the time and that the experience made her cry. The awkward beginning, however, did not last.
They gradually became friends, and the friendship became the foundation for a relationship that neither actor publicly confirmed for years. Vijay has also recently said that he does not believe theirs was a case of love at first sight; instead, their connection developed over time through friendship and understanding.
When Geetha Govindam arrived in 2018, audiences saw something that felt unusually effortless between the two actors. Vijay played Govind, while Rashmika played Geetha, and their comic-romantic dynamic made them a popular on-screen pairing. The success of the film also created the first wave of speculation about whether their chemistry extended beyond the screen. A year later, they reunited for ‘Dear Comrade’. The film was very different in tone, giving them a more emotionally intense relationship to play out. By then, rumours about their off-screen equation had become difficult to ignore.
Even as their professional careers expanded, their personal lives remained something they carefully kept away from the spotlight. But every once in a while, a moment would give fans something to talk about. By 2024, the mystery was wearing thin. The following year brought another significant shift. Both Rashmika and Vijay acknowledged that they were not single, although neither initially named the other. Then, in October 2025, reports emerged that the couple had held an intimate engagement ceremony in Hyderabad. For fans who had followed their relationship for years, however, the engagement was enough to make one thing clear: the long-running love story was finally heading somewhere official.
‘Virosh’ Became More Than A Fan Nickname
On February 22, 2026, Rashmika and Vijay finally confirmed their wedding plans. They called it “The Wedding of VIROSH”, borrowing the name fans had created by combining Vijay and Rashmika. The couple explicitly acknowledged that “Virosh” had been given to them by fans years earlier and decided to carry that name into their wedding. They married on February 26, 2026, in Udaipur, in an intimate celebration that incorporated Telugu and Kodava traditions.
