What You Should Know About Padma Lakshmi's Relationship With Salman Rushdie

Television personality and cookbook author Padma Lakshmi is no ordinary woman. She has many achievements under her belt and has always been good at juggling several roles such as hosting the popular show, Top Chef, working with jewelry and home décor, and of course, sharing recipes with her fans who are in need of a little bit of inspiration from the talented celebrity. Believe it or not, Lakshmi was a long way away from the culinary world at the beginning of her career. She started her professional journey as a model and as an actress before exploring the world of food. 

While it's undeniable that she's now a strong name in the culinary industry and has a host of fans, Lakshmi's personal life has gotten a lot of attention over the years. One of the most publicized stories from her private life was her previous relationship with author Salman Rushdie, a difficult pairing that went down in flames and was spoken about for a long time. Here's what happened between Lakshmi and the explosive writer all those years ago.

The relationship between Padma Lakshmi and Salman Rushdie was unexpected, and Rushdie, who was much older, was already married when he fell in love with Lakshmi. The two eventually got together after his marriage fell apart. The couple married in 2004. Unfortunately, being involved with a writer as famous as Rushdie ended up jeopardizing Lakshmi's work in the sense that the relationship became a bigger focus than her professional milestones. That wasn't their only obstacle.

According to the New York Times, Lakshmi shared more details in her memoir, Love, Loss and What We Ate, shedding light on her rocky relationship with Rushdie. She claimed he didn't take her endometriosis diagnosis seriously despite the fact that had to have surgery for it. She alleged that Rushdie even accused her of using her health condition as an excuse not to fulfill his sexual needs, something that didn't go down well with Lakshmi.

Life with Rushdie was not what she hoped for. Lakshmi had to entertain the idea that her life would be undeniably tied to Rushdie's and she wouldn't be able to pursue a strong career herself. Lakshmi wasn't comfortable with this. She told People, "I just wanted my own identity...but in order to do that, it required that I wasn't everywhere that he needed me to be."

The couple couldn't make things work and ultimately decided to divorce each other in 2007.