Exclusive: Rubina Dilaik Said Yes To The Ward In Seconds: Here's The Raw Truth Behind Why

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"Motherhood introduced me to emotions and strengths I genuinely did not know I carried within myself."

For Rubina Dilaik, those are not just words for an interview. They are lived experiences, and the reason she said yes, almost immediately, to hosting The Ward.

Photo Credit: Instagram (Edited by BoldSky)

One of Indian television's most recognised faces, Rubina has built her career on fearless honesty. Audiences have watched her cry, fight, and hold her ground across years of high-pressure reality formats. But nothing, she says, quite prepared her for becoming a mother. And now, fresh into that experience, she has channelled it into her most personal project yet, as the host of The Ward, a deeply emotional nonfiction series that premiered on 15 May on The Little Adda Company's YouTube channel. The show brings together ten women, all on the threshold of motherhood, and does something Indian content rarely does: it lets them tell the unfiltered truth.

In an exclusive interview with Boldsky, Rubina Dilaik gets candid about becoming a mother, hosting The Ward, and the emotions she wishes someone had warned her about.

The Emotions Motherhood Doesn't Warn You About

Ask Rubina what motherhood changed about her, and the answer is not what most celebrity profiles tend to print.

"It made me discover a softer, more patient, and emotionally vulnerable side of me," she told Boldsky. "But at the same time, it also revealed a strength and resilience that surprised me."

She pauses on something specific, the idea that women believe they know themselves completely before they become mothers.

"Motherhood changes your emotional landscape entirely. You suddenly become deeply intuitive, protective, selfless, and emotionally aware in ways that are difficult to explain. It also made me more compassionate toward myself and others, because I now understand how much emotional labour women silently carry every single day."

That last line is one she returns to throughout the conversation. The word silently does a lot of weight. Because silence, Rubina believes, is precisely the problem The Ward is trying to dismantle.

The Space She Wished Had Existed

When she first heard about the show's premise, ten women, one space, total emotional honesty, Rubina says it did not take her long to say yes.

"When I became a mother, I constantly felt the need for a safe and honest space where women could openly talk about pregnancy, fear, emotional vulnerability, anxiety, and the realities of motherhood without judgement," she said. "Most conversations around pregnancy are either overly glamorised or emotionally filtered."

The Ward wanted something different. And that intention, she says, was enough.

"More than a show, it felt like a much-needed emotional community for women and families. It genuinely felt like the kind of conversation I wished existed when I was navigating my own motherhood journey."

This also marks her first-ever stint as a reality host, adding another layer to how personal this project is. Previously known for performing in scripted fiction, stepping to the other side of the camera brought its own unexpected education.

When the Cameras Stopped Mattering

Photo Credit: Instagram (Edited by Boldsky)

"What surprised me the most was how emotionally consuming and deeply personal it became," Rubina said of the hosting experience.

In scripted content, there is always a boundary between the performer and the character. The Ward offered no such buffer.

"While hosting The Ward, there was no emotional distance because the stories, tears, fears, and emotions unfolding around me were completely real. I was not 'performing' empathy, I was genuinely feeling it."

There were moments, she admits, where she forgot the cameras were there entirely.

"Hosting also taught me the importance of listening, emotional presence, and creating a safe environment where people feel comfortable opening up. It was a very human experience for me."

'Society Is Conditioned To Associate Motherhood Only With Celebration'

The Ward deliberately centres the conversations Indian families tend to push to the edges: fear, loneliness, emotional exhaustion, identity loss, hormonal upheaval. These are not small topics. They are also, Rubina notes, topics that still make many people deeply uncomfortable.

"Society is still conditioned to associate motherhood only with happiness, sacrifice, and celebration," she said plainly. "So whenever conversations around fear, loneliness, anxiety, emotional exhaustion, or mental health come up, people become uncomfortable because it breaks that 'perfect motherhood' image."

Women, she observes, are expected to quietly endure and to appear grateful while doing it.

"The reality is that pregnancy and motherhood are emotionally life-changing experiences, and with that naturally come moments of fear, confusion, breakdowns, and emotional overwhelm. But silence only makes women feel more isolated."

Still Rubina. Also a Mother.

Photo Credit: Instagram (Edited by BoldSky)

There is a question about identity that Rubina does not sidestep. Many women describe losing themselves in early motherhood, the slow erosion of who they were before a child arrived. Did she experience that too?

"Yes, I think every woman experiences that shift at some level," she said. "Suddenly, so much of your emotional energy, time, and attention revolves around your child, and naturally, your sense of self evolves too. There are moments where you pause and ask yourself who you are beyond the responsibilities of motherhood."

But her answer worked out over time, not borrowed from a wellness caption, and is not about loss.

"I realised that it is not about choosing between being 'Rubina' and being a mother. Both identities can coexist beautifully. Motherhood has not taken away who I am. Instead, it has added emotional depth, maturity, and meaning to my identity."

She adds one word that carries the whole thought: grace.

"I think the key is to allow yourself the grace to evolve without guilt."

The Myth She Most Wants To Dismantle

Social media has made the "perfect mother" aesthetic almost inescapable; the spotless home, the radiant skin, the baby who sleeps on schedule, the woman who somehow held it all together. Rubina has little patience for it.

"The most damaging myth is that a 'good mother' is someone who handles everything perfectly all the time without feeling exhausted, frustrated, emotionally overwhelmed, or lost," she said. "Women are constantly juggling childcare, healing, relationships, work, emotional well-being, and household responsibilities all at once. Yet many mothers feel pressured to appear effortlessly happy and put together at all times."

Her message stated clearly: struggling does not make someone a bad mother.

"It simply makes them human."

The Conversation She Wants In Indian Homes

After The Ward, if Rubina could shift one thing about how Indian families talk about motherhood, it would be this:

"I really hope conversations around emotional support and mental health during pregnancy and motherhood become more normalised in Indian households. We often focus only on the physical health of a pregnant woman, but emotionally she goes through tremendous changes that deserve equal care and understanding."

She is specific about what that looks like in practice, not just cultural awareness, but actual participation.

"Emotional support from partners and families can completely change a woman's experience of motherhood. Motherhood is not something a woman should silently carry alone."

And to every new mother who is already carrying more than she should have to, Rubina has one thing she wants said aloud:

"It is okay to feel tired. It is okay to need help. It is okay to take time for yourself. It is okay to have moments where you feel emotionally drained. None of that makes you a bad mother. In fact, acknowledging your emotions honestly makes you more human, more self-aware, and emotionally healthier, for both yourself and your child."

More Than a Host

The Ward is available on The Little Adda Company's YouTube channel, with new episodes following the ten women through the most emotionally uncharted months of their lives. Rubina serves not just as a host but, by her own account, as someone who genuinely understands the terrain.

What makes her the right person for this particular show is not the television credits or the fame. It is something simpler, the fact that she recently lived through exactly what these women are navigating, and chose not to pretend any of it was easy.

That honesty, it turns out, is the most compelling thing she has ever brought to the screen.