Celebrity chef and television personality Padma Lakshmi has candidly addressed the difficulties of maintaining a dating life while juggling the responsibilities of single motherhood and a thriving culinary career. At 55, Lakshmi finds herself navigating romantic prospects with heightened caution and deliberation.
In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly while promoting America's Culinary Cup, Lakshmi articulated the precarious nature of dating at this stage of her life. "It's really difficult to navigate, you know, being a single mom and being lucky enough to have the full career that I do and also dating," she explained. "I think dating at my age is precarious."
The host and executive producer of America's Culinary Cup acknowledged that she has become considerably more protective of her personal space and family life. Her concerns extend beyond typical dating anxieties to practical considerations about safety and compatibility. "I don't know, do I let this person in my house? Do I ask them for a background check? Like, you know, I'm not sure," Lakshmi said. "I know that seems rude, but you know, I'm very risk-averse, so it's difficult."
When asked directly about her relationship status, Lakshmi confirmed she is "still single" before adding with a hint of mystery, "I'll leave it at that."
The professional chef emphasized that her current priorities extend well beyond romantic pursuits. She has her "hands full" with America's Culinary Cup following the publication of her latest cookbook, Padma's All American: Tales, Travels, and Recipes from Taste the Nation and Beyond: A Cookbook, which was released last November. Additionally, she is focused on "taking care of my family and my mother, my daughter."
Despite her guarded approach to dating, Lakshmi has not closed the door on future romance entirely. "I think when it's the right time and the right person, it'll just happen," she concluded, suggesting an openness to organic connections when circumstances align.
Lakshmi shares her only child, daughter Krishna, 16, with ex Adam Dell. The former couple dated from 2009 to 2012 following Lakshmi's divorce from Salman Rushdie in 2007. Lakshmi and Dell, 56, rekindled their romance in 2017 before ultimately splitting for good in 2021.
On the professional front, Lakshmi's focus remains firmly on her culinary endeavors. She described her vision for America's Culinary Cup as a departure from traditional reality cooking competition formats. "The biggest thing [I wanted to bring to this show] was really just to give the chefs every ingredient, weapon, appliance that they would need to sort of take away all of the tricks and gimmicks that sometimes [happen] in reality programming," Lakshmi explained to Us Weekly. "Just to make it more exciting, we throw obstacles in their way [on other series]. We ask them to cook with children's instruments or something like that. And I just wanted to see what they could do when it was only about the cooking."
This approach has proven successful, with Lakshmi noting that the show's emphasis on culinary excellence has helped it become the number one food competition show on television. "I'm proud of all my producers and the chefs, frankly, they cook their hearts out," she said. "We took a risk, you know, to say, 'No, this is going to be about the purity of cooking,' and it was a gamble. And luckily, people are watching."
The high caliber of participating chefs has ensured consistently impressive results. Lakshmi revealed that she "didn't get a bad meal" throughout season one, a testament to the talent assembled for the competition that viewers can witness in her reactions to the final dishes each week.
America's Culinary Cup airs on CBS Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET, with the season finale scheduled for Wednesday, May 13.