Padma Lakshmi is sending her well wishes to ex-husband Salman Rushdie after he suffered life-threatening injuries over the weekend.
“Relieved @SalmanRushdie is pulling through after Friday’s nightmare,” the Top Chef host, 51, tweeted about her ex on Sunday, August 14, following the news that the author was repeatedly stabbed on Friday, August 12, while on stage at a Chautauqua, New York, lecture. “Worried and wordless, can finally exhale. Now hoping for swift healing.”
Relieved @SalmanRushdie is pulling through after Friday’s nightmare. Worried and wordless, can finally exhale. Now hoping for swift healing.
— Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) August 14, 2022
Rushdie has long been the subject of threats due to the controversial nature of some of his writings. His fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, which was released in 1988, drew condemnation from some Muslims who believed it to be sacrilegious, including Iran’s then-leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who issued a decree calling for the writer’s death.
On Sunday, the India native’s family said he was in critical condition at the hospital after he suffered numerous stab wounds to the neck, chest, stomach and right eye.
“Though his life changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty & defiant sense of humor remains intact,” the writer’s son Zafar Rushdie said in a statement via Twitter. Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old New Jersey native, was arrested by a state trooper following the attack and was taken into custody as the suspect for the stabbing.
Lakshmi and Rushdie started dating in 1999 before tying the knot in April 2004. They were married for three years before divorcing in July 2007.
The TV host then moved on with billionaire Theodore J. Forstmann in 2009 until his death in 2011. During a break in her relationship with Forstmann, Lakshmi welcomed a daughter, Krishna, with businessman Adam Dell in 2010.
In August 2020, the Taste the Nation host opened up about not having “a perfect balance” when it comes to coparenting with the venture capitalist.
“Every day is different,” she told Us exclusively, noting that Krishna will always be “the real star in the family.”
The Hulu star gushed over her daughter’s creative spirit, adding, “She is wildly entertaining and funny and a great singer. … Krishna’s hysterical. I have to resist the temptation to put her on my social media all the time because I don’t think that’s right, but it’s hard because she’s really, genuinely funny!”
The Bravo personality and Dell, 52, have faced numerous highs and lows over the years, including a custody dispute in 2012. In 2017, however, they appeared to rekindle their romance.
The Easy Exotic cookbook author seemingly moved on from her on and off relationship with Dell in June 2021, as she was spotted locking lips with poet Terrence Hayes. The pair went their separate ways in November 2021.
