Top Chef” judge and model Padma Lakshmi is rumored to be dating hotelier Vikram Chatwal. The duo was spotted together during the holidays.
Lakshmi, 42, and Chatwal, 41, who are longtime friends, were first seen in court-side seats together at Madison Square Garden for the Knicks/Nets game in December, The New York Post reported. Chatwal, whose properties include the Dream Hotels, is said to have separated from his wife, Priya Sachdev. The two were also reportedly “inseparable” at the Dream’s New Year’s Eve bash and were spotted boarding a private plane in Los Angeles last week.
Lakshmi was previously married to author Salman Rushdie. According to information on her website, Lakshmi first met Rushdie, almost 20 years older to her, at a party in New York hosted by journalist Tina Brown.
The two married five years later – and raised eyebrows - both for the discrepancy in their looks and their ages. The two stayed together for eight years before divorcing in 2007. Lakshmi has her own line of Indian-inspired jewelry, as well as a line of spices, teas and bake-ware. She again made headlines with the birth of her daughter Krishna, born in February 2010. Though she originally kept the identity of the baby’s father a secret, Lakshmi later revealed him to be American venture capitalist Adam Dell. “Everything is better with her around,” she said of her daughter. “Anything from the beginning of the day till the end. I don’t really have any attention span for anything else than her.”
Chatwal is also no stranger to the Big Apple social circuit. With a reputation of being a playboy, he was spotted with Victoria’s Secret model Angela Lindvall in April 2012, and the two were rumored to tie the knot. The 40 year old, who is father to a five-year-old daughter, Safira, from his 2006 marriage with Sachdev, was quoted in news reports saying he wanted to marry again to have more kids.
The hotelier has previously been linked with international glam girls Lindsay Lohan, Kate Moss and Gisele Bündchen. He has also acted in Bollywood films including “Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd” (2006), “Ek Ajnabee” (2005) and “One Dollar Curry” (2004).
