Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi's adorable daughter Krishna celebrates her first birthday next month — but her parents are suddenly at war in a surprise custody battle.
Krishna's father, venture capitalist Adam Dell, filed a new lawsuit against his famous ex, filing for full custody. (New York Post's Page Six first revealed the filing.)
According to an earlier agreement, Dell, 41, has visitation rights to see his daughter 9 days per month. Insiders told TMZ that Lakshmi felt "bullied" by her ex, who is apparently furious over the name Lakshmi chose for their child and the end of their relationship. (Once married to Pulitzer-winning author Salman Rushdie, Lakshmi is currently dating mogul Teddy Forstmann.)
"Adam Dell, above all else, wants to have an active and substantial role in the upbringing of his daughter with Padma Lakshmi," his attorney told the Post. "Mr. Dell has tried his best to avoid going to court."
"Padma wants her daughter to be able to have a relationship with her father," an insider close to the Bravo star counters to UsMagazine.com.
A rep for Lakshmi tells Us exclusively in a statement: "Ms. Lakshmi believes that family matters should be kept private. She asks that those who join her in wanting the best for her daughter do the same."
She adds: "Ms. Lakshmi's sole interest lies in preserving the privacy and welfare of her daughter and in working out and fair and amicable agreement out of the media's glare."
The star's attorney Jay D. Silverstein says in a 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."
