Padma Lakshmi Opened Up About Ex-Husband Salman Rushdie's Attack

These days, we know Padma Lakshmi best for her role as host on "Top Chef" and "Taste the Nation," as well as her cookbooks and memoirs. However, in the early 2000s, Lakshmi's life was very different. She was starting her modeling career and was in love with writer Salman Rushdie.

Unfortunately, Lakshmi's relationship with Salman Rushdie was turbulent and short-lived. According to the Daily News, Lakshmi accredits the relationship's end to her endometriosis diagnosis and Rushdie's "insensitivity" to her pain. They divorced in 2007 after only three years of marriage.

Despite their separation, the two were able to eventually rekindle a friendship. After the publication of her memoir in 2016, Lakshmi expressed in an interview with People Magazine that she still very much cares for Rushdie. "In many ways, I consider him still part of my family," she said. This sentiment became very obvious after Rushdie was attacked on August 12.

Salman Rushdie was preparing to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in New York when a man attacked him. According to CNN, Rushdie was airlifted to a nearby hospital and treated for several stab wounds, including an injury to his right eye.

To his family's relief, Rushdie was able to be taken off a ventilator over the weekend (via Today). Padma Lakshmi shared her own relief on Twitter, calling the attack a "nightmare." She went on to say, "Worried and wordless, can finally exhale. Now hoping for swift healing."

Lakshmi's Twitter followers offered their own well-wishes, saying they too were relieved Rushdie had pulled through. Others wrote that their thoughts were with Lakshmi, Rushdie, and his family. Fellow cookbook writer Nigella Lawson also commented on Rushdie's attack, calling the whole ordeal "horrific" and begging for her friend to "be ok." Although Rushdie still has a ways to go with his healing, he seems to be on the right track.