Padma Lakshmi is easily one of the most sought-after celebrities on television, widely known for her 17-year-long stint on Top Chef. While she gained recognition for her sharp critiques on the show, she is just as outspoken in real life. However, she shocked everyone when she made a major revelation about her personal life.
In an interview, Lakshmi opened up about her past and revealed that she was initially uncertain about the paternity of her daughter.
Padma Lakshmi was uncertain about the paternity of her daughter
Padma Lakshmi has always embraced the challenges of life with elegance and grace, whether in her role as a host on Top Chef or in her personal life as a mother. The former host is constantly seen on social media sharing snippets of her daughter and their quality time together. But one of the most shocking revelations happened when she revealed that she was initially uncertain about the paternity of her daughter, Krishna.
In her memoir Love, Loss, and What We Ate via Daily Mail, she mentioned that she discovered she was pregnant with her daughter in 2009. It came as a huge shock for her as she had been struggling with endometriosis for a long time and was told by doctors that she wouldn’t be able to conceive naturally.
While she was happy when she found out, she was also uncertain because she had been dating more than one person at the time.
In 2009, Padma Lakshmi was involved with two very high-profile men—billionaire IMG CEO Teddy Forstmann and venture capitalist Adam Dell. The latter also happens to be the brother of Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Computer. While she was upfront with both men about dating others, this didn’t make the pregnancy news any less surprising.
Adding to this was the fact that she and Dell had broken up months before, briefly rekindling their relationship.
When she gathered the courage to reveal the news to Forstmann, he was quite angry and shocked. But despite his initial reaction, he became quite involved in her life and even offered to raise her daughter as his own. After the paternity test confirmed that Adam Dell was the biological father, the late Forstmann reportedly asked her to keep the results private.
While she declined, he ensured that Krishna was taken care of in his will before he sadly passed away in 2011.
After his death, Dell and Lakshmi fought a messy custody battle, and eventually, his name was added to Krishna’s birth certificate. While that was then, currently, the duo have a good custody arrangement, and even Lakshmi admitted that he has been a very hands-on dad for their daughter.
Padma Lakshmi talks about her single mother status
While she has a plethora of projects to her name, being a mother is Padma Lakshmi’s top priority. She has been raising her daughter, Krishna, with great responsibility and has ensured that she grows up to be grounded and self-sufficient. Though she has a custody arrangement with Krishna’s father, she also understands the importance of setting boundaries.
For Lakshmi, parenting is much more than just providing love and support—it’s also about discipline and structure. She described herself via Yahoo as being “very Americanized” in many ways, but when it comes to parenting, she embraces the values she grew up with in South Asia. She also detailed that her role as a parent will always come before being a friend.
While single parenthood is definitely tough, Padma Lakshmi is committed to raising her daughter in an environment where she can navigate her own path in the world.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
