Her best friend! Padma Lakshmi and her daughter, Krishna, are two peas in a pod — and have plenty of adorable family photos to prove it.
The Top Chef host welcomed her child in 2010 with then-partner Adam Dell, whom she began dating in the wake of her 2007 divorce from writer Salman Rushdie. Krishna’s parents dated on and off before rekindling their romance in 2017.
“They are closer than they’ve ever been this second time around and can be so honest with each other,” a source told Us Weekly exclusively in October 2018. “It’s obvious Padma is very comfortable with him. They have a very close and loving relationship.”
While the insider noted at the time that the duo’s relationship was going “really well,” they were briefly caught up in a legal spat over custody of their daughter. After the venture capitalist sued Lakshmi in 2011, a rep for the cookbook author told Us, “Ms. Lakshmi’s sole interest lies in preserving the privacy and welfare of her daughter and in working out a fair and amicable agreement.”
The custody dispute was settled one year later after the Taste the Nation host agreed to give Dell more time with Krishna. When it comes to coparenting, the exes take it day by day.
“I don’t know that there is a perfect balance,” Lakshmi exclusively told Us in August 2020, revealing that she spent Father’s Day with Dell two months prior. “We didn’t do anything so elaborate. … Krishna set up a scavenger hunt for him to find all his little presents and then he had a couple of friends over with their kids just to play outside in a socially appropriate way [during COVID-19].”
The Emmy nominee joked that her little girl has been “the real star in the family” ever since she was born. “I’m a fan of my daughter’s creativity,” she added. “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!”
Over the years, the Tomatoes for Neela author has shared glimpses of her life at home with Krishna, often posting throwback photos from when she was younger. As her daughter grows up, Lakshmi wants to set a positive example.
“I have a tween girl now, and it’s very important how we talk about our bodies,” the TV personality exclusively told Us in August 2021. “It’s fine to say among your girlfriends, ‘Oh, I’m feeling fat in my jeans.’ But be careful what you say [in front of children]. … We just want to be mindful of our little girl and just make sure we’re speaking appropriately and not exaggerating because it’s a very dangerous landscape for young women. I feel this acutely. Body image is a really, really big deal. Young girls and teenage girls and boys have so much pressure that we didn’t have when we were kids.”
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Scroll down to see Lakshmi’s sweetest moments with her daughter:
