Malaysian actress Bella Astillah has filed for divorce from husband, Aliff Aziz, a Singaporean actor-singer.
Bella Astillah, 30, whose real name is Dayang Nabellah Awang Astillah, arrived at the Federal Territories’ Syariah Court in Jalan Duta around noon on Wednesday (Mar 13) after filing for divorce on Monday.
The actress told reporters present that the divorce is “the best way” for her.
“As many of you already know, we previously reconciled and I think by us going on with our own paths, this might be the best for me and Aliff.
“He agreed to it earlier and as it is the month of Ramadan, I just want everything to go smoothly,” she said, as reported by several Malaysian news outlets.
It was also reported that Bella’s lawyer Azmi Mohd Rais explained that 33-year-old Aliff’s absence in court was due to scheduling conflicts.
“We’ve filed this case a few days ago via fast-track divorce because we’ve received news that Aliff has agreed to it previously. However, Aliff told us today that he is not ready as he is still shooting.
“So I’ve appealed to the court to move the discussions and delivery of summons to the next court mention date,” said Azmi.
The divorce was sparked by the Malaysia-based singer-actor’s khalwat (close proximity) case with Malaysian actress Ruhainies, 31.
On Mar 9, Aliff and Ruhainies were detained by Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) officers at a condominium in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysian newspaper Harian Metro reported that the pair had failed to appear at a filming location for the drama series Terjerat in Selangor at 8am that day.
Aliff has since taken to Instagram to address the situation. In a post from the night of Mar 14, he wrote his “official account” of what happened, detailing the chronology of events that led to the officials arriving at the condominium.