Former Miss South India Fitness and Miss Bengaluru Fitness Pooja Sharma revealed that she was sexually abused by a family member when she was in grade six.
One of the 25 contestants selected to be a part of MTV Roadies: Real Heroes, Pooja revealed this when judges Neha Dhupia and Rannvijay Singh, asked her to reveal her darkest secret.
“I didn’t understand what was being done to me for a long time,” the 27-year-old said. The abuse continued for six years until she gathered the courage to speak to her mother. “I am over it now. Many young girls go through the same ordeal. They need to realise that it is not their fault; they should immediately confide in someone close to them,” she said.
Pooja is an athlete and has over 228K followers on Instagram. Her video from the ‘culling round’ in the show, where she showcased her strength by doing three-finger pull-ups and push-ups using rings, has gone viral on social media.
“I spent 7-8 hours at the gym every day for nearly two months to be able to pull that off. Giving your body the right nutrition is very important,” Pooja said.