Padma Lakshmi is an expert in the kitchen, but the model/author has been taken to court by ex-boyfriend Adam Dell.
This venture capitalist has filed a lawsuit against the Top Chef host and is seeking custody of the pair's daughter, Krishna. At issue? How much time Dell can spend with her after she turns a year old next month.
"Adam Dell, above all else, wants to have an active and substantial role in the upbringing of his daughter with Padma Lakshmi," his lawyer tells The New York Post. "Mr. Dell has tried his best to avoid going to court."
While a rep for Lakshmi says she wants this matter to remain private, the star's attorney, Jay D. Silverstein, has released the following statement:
"The facts in the court papers are inaccurate and misleading. Ms. Lakshmi looks forward to correcting the record in the courts, not the press. She is saddened and gravely disappointed that Mr. Dell has chosen a very public means of filing his petition with the court rather than doing so in a confidential or sealed manner which is customary in cases involving a very young child.
"Ms. Lakshmi believes that the manner in which the papers were filed as well their dissemination to the media is antithetical to the welfare and long term emotional well being of their daughter."