When Power Couples Break: What the Rippling Scandal Reveals About Love, Ego & Divorce in the Desi Diaspora
Behind every startup war and court filing, there’s often a deeper story of love lost, egos bruised, and Desi drama that hits close to home.
Last month, Prasanna Sankar doxxed his wife and accused her of an affair on X. | Source:Photo Illustration by Kyle Victory
Silicon Valley is buzzing with the shocking revelations surrounding Rippling, Deel, and a corporate espionage scandal worthy of an HBO miniseries. But for those of us in the South Asian diaspora, this story isn't just about billion-dollar startups and intellectual property theft—it's also about what happens when a Desi power couple crashes headfirst into the pressures of love, legacy, and betrayal.
At the center of the storm is Prasanna Sankar, co-founder of the $13.5B HR-tech unicorn Rippling, and his wife Dhivya Sashidhar, who until recently, was also a senior leader at the same company. While the lawsuit between Rippling and Deel over corporate spying has made headlines, it’s the unraveling of this high-profile marriage that’s sparking deeper conversations within our community.
Let’s break it down—not just what happened, but what it reveals about Desi relationships, ambition, and the emotional landmines of dating within your professional ecosystem.
When Romance and Resume Intersect
For many South Asian Americans, dating someone with a similar background—educationally, culturally, professionally—feels safe and natural. But what happens when the person you're building a life with is also building your company with you?
The S2S take? It’s high risk, high reward. When it works, it’s beautiful synergy. When it doesn't, the fallout isn’t just emotional—it’s public, financial, and reputational.
We often idolize Desi “power couples” who co-build businesses, raise kids, and attend investor dinners in matching formalwear. But we rarely talk about the personal cost of that entanglement. Co-dependency can masquerade as compatibility. Shared ambition can blur personal boundaries.
The Private Becomes Public (and a Little Bit Petty)
Let’s not sugarcoat it—this breakup has everything: alleged corporate spies, sexy texts, deleted Slack messages, accusations of emotional abuse, and even a viral callout involving XL-size condoms and the 🍆 emoji.
Yes, seriously.
At the center of the very public unraveling is Dhivya Sashidhar, ex-senior employee at Rippling, who is currently in a brutal custody battle with her soon-to-be ex-husband Prasanna Sankar, Rippling's co-founder. Court filings and leaked emails paint a picture of not just a marriage in crisis—but a workplace romance turned warzone, where power dynamics, professional retaliation, and personal humiliation collide.
Rippling co-founder Prasanna Sankar is on a run from Chennai Police after his wife Divya Sashidhar filed rape, and domestic violence case against him amid their divorce and son's custody.
In a bombshell letter filed in court, Dhivya breaks her silence on her side of the story—alleging emotional manipulation, isolation from company leadership, and retaliation after their marriage began to deteriorate. She also addressed those infamous texts she sent to a new love interest, where she jokingly references his condom size. Her take? She’s an adult woman allowed to move on, and her private messages are nobody’s business.
But Prasanna’s legal team didn’t see it that way. The texts were included in court filings in a move many observers are calling unnecessarily invasive and strategically humiliating. And it’s working—because Desi Twitter, Reddit, and even mainstream media are eating it up.
So, Why Does This Hit So Close to Home for South Asian Americans?
Because the undercurrent of this story isn’t just about infidelity or divorce—it’s about who gets to reclaim their narrative, especially in Desi spaces where image is everything.
For decades, South Asian women were expected to be the silent backbone—managing the home, the kids, the emotions—while their high-achieving husbands built empires. But this new generation? They’re not built for quiet suffering.
Dhivya, didn’t just speak up. She fought back in a system where, even in America, Desi women often lose the benefit of the doubt. And let’s not forget—she wasn’t just a wife. She was also an executive. This wasn’t just a marital split—it was a corporate divorce, too.
And for Desi professionals watching from the sidelines? It’s raising big questions:
Can Desi women in power ever really win when relationships go south?
Are Desi men emotionally equipped to handle their partners becoming more vocal, independent, or... God forbid, done?
Why does our community still get more uncomfortable with a woman sending a spicy text than with a man allegedly weaponizing the legal system to shame her?
Divorce and Dignity in the Desi Diaspora
Let’s be honest—divorce still carries stigma in many South Asian communities, especially for women. But stories like this are forcing us to reckon with new realities. It’s not just aunties whispering about failed marriages anymore. It’s tech journalists, VCs, and Reddit threads.
Whether you’re a founder or a finance bro, navigating a public breakup in the age of LinkedIn and Slack screenshots requires grace, strategy, and a support system that understands the Desi nuance.
This is also why mature matchmaking—a growing area in the S2S world—is so essential. More than ever, mid-life Desis are re-entering the dating scene, often post-divorce, with kids, businesses, and emotional baggage in tow. The question isn’t just “who can I date?”—it’s “who can I build with this time around?”
What Can We Learn?
Don’t build a startup if your relationship isn’t stable. Emotional clarity is just as important as market clarity.
Divorce doesn’t disqualify you from love. But it does require reflection, healing, and a clear-eyed understanding of what you need now.
Oversharing is real—but silence isn’t always noble. Sometimes Desi women need to speak out to reclaim their narrative.
There’s no playbook for this. But there are matchmakers, coaches, and communities who can guide you forward.
If nothing else, this saga is a modern Desi parable: messy, dramatic, and painfully revealing. But it's also a sign of the times.
South Asian Americans are finally confronting the truth that love, ambition, sex, and power don’t live in separate silos. And whether you’re launching a unicorn or a new relationship, the real work begins when appearances crumble—and authenticity takes the wheel.
This scandal is a reminder that even billionaires with ESOPs and Ivy League degrees aren’t immune to relationship breakdowns. And for the rest of us? It’s a cautionary tale, a conversation starter, and maybe…a wake-up call.
Because in the end, love is still the riskiest startup of all.
