'I want to marry a man who can support me. In India, wives are supposed to be looked after by husbands, not vice versa. I don't want him to come and stay in my house. I want to live in his house. I will wait for him to afford a house.

'I know Elesh is a decent guy. But is that enough? He has to be financially independent. He needed a place and a face to latch on to; that's why he came on the show. Abhishek was so decent. But he was known as Rakhi's boyfriend.'

Rakhi's new show is about parenting, but kids give her a headache.

'I've a migraine problem. When a child cries, I get a severe headache. I don't know how I'll manage for a month with a stranger's child.

'On top of that I've to cook on the show. I can't cook to save my life. I don't know how I'll manage. I can't even use make-up. Can you imagine Rakhi Sawant without makeup?' she said.

Asked how she'll cope when she has her own kids, Rakhi replied: 'Apna bachcha to har koi paal leta hai...jaanwar bhi. I don't know how I'll cope. I think I'm going to lose my cool completely. So far people have only seen the good Rakhi Sawant. Now they'll see the real me.'

Speaking about ex-boyfriend Abhishek, she said: 'I still consider him my good friend. I hope and pray he finds a good girl. If ever in life he needs me, I'll always be there.

'If he needs me to be a dance partner in a reality show I'll gladly do the needful. He has supported me a lot. I'll always be thankful to him for getting my mother out of my life. That's one good deed he did. If Abhishek hadn't been there, I'd have not had the courage to break away from my family. I'd have been wallowing in mud.'

(Subhash K. Jha can be contacted at jhasubh@gmail.com)