Netflix’s latest documentary, Sweet Bobby, tells the stranger-than-fiction tale of radio broadcaster Kirat Assi, who believed she was in a years-long relationship with a man named Bobby, only to learn that she had been catfished for years – with the culprit being a member of her own family, her cousin, Simran Bhogal.
Speaking to HELLO!, Kirat opened up about her fears regarding the new Netflix show, her thoughts on whether she will ever be able to forgive her cousin, and whether she has found love following her eight-year ordeal.
After believing that she had been in a relationship with Bobby for three years, Kirat revealed that she has been dating – and that she looks at the experience like a “bad breakup”.
She explained: “I’ve dated a few people, not too many, but yeah, I've dated. I’ve got to be so careful because, obviously, knowing the documentary is coming out, you have to be really careful.
“I’m just not kidding myself. One of the themes that the documentary focuses on is about a woman’s need to get married, the biological clock, and all those kinds of things. Well, I’m not in that same position anymore. I’m in a different place in my life. Yes, I do want to marry and settle down, but will I be a mum? I don’t know.
“So things have shifted slightly. But, yeah, I do want to be with somebody, and I do want to settle down, and I do want to have a companion for life. That hasn’t changed. Don’t get me wrong, I have some bad days, I have some terrible days. But I tend not to vent to the world, which is something I tend not to do. I’m quite a private person.”
She added: “People ask me about dating and meeting new people. I think it’s no different from coming out of a bad relationship and meeting somebody new. When you come out of a bad relationship, you say, ‘I’m never going to date somebody again,’ and everyone says, ‘Never say never.’
“I’m quite a positive person, so you have to believe that everybody’s not the same as that person, and if you want to be happy, you’ve got to take responsibility for being happy. You can’t let others dictate your happiness. I’ve always been that way, and I think my approach to life surprises a lot of people who don’t expect me to be the person I am.”
The radio presenter, who received settlement of a civil case – the first of its kind to win in the UK – admitted that she was "terrified" about her experience, which has been told in a hugely popular podcast, landing on Netflix.
“I am low-key just absolutely terrified of what’s going to come,” she admitted. “What of my life story can you fit in 82 minutes? It’s terrifying, and just the judgement from the trailer alone has not been great… Nervous is probably an understatement.”
Despite her experience, Kirat also opened up about her relationship with Simran now, and how, despite everything, she doesn’t want internet sleuths tracking down her family member.
“I don’t want her near my vicinity. I don’t know how I’d feel if I saw her. She hasn’t been held accountable yet. She hasn’t held herself accountable. I just want her to be accountable. Until those things happen, I don’t know. But at the same time, it’s not for me to seek revenge.
“You’ve got to remember that this person is family, not a stranger. Someone hunting her down, her family down – even if I’m not talking to that part of my family – they’re still family. Whatever that person’s done, their parents didn’t do it, and they have to suffer. We’re all suffering as a family and a community… By people trying to do that online, you’re no better than what she did, right?
“Online needs to be regulated. Let’s put the pressure on the right people to do the right thing, but don’t go around causing harm and hurt to people because it’s hard enough for all of us anyway. It’s hard enough without people trying to hunt others down online, having these great big conversations. Online is a dangerous place, and while it can be helpful, it’s a dangerous place, and we just need to put stuff in place there… But you’re as bad as that person if that’s what you’re doing.”