Top Chef Lakshmi Embroiled in Custody Suit

Padma Lakshmi, 40, the host of the reality show "Top Chef", is being sued by her former lover, Adam Dell, 41, over the custody of her daughter Krishna as he claims that a paternity test proves that he is the little girl's biological father, as reported in the Los Angeles Times and other news sources.

Lakshmi is now romantically involved with Ted Forstmann, 70, and is allegedly pushing 11-month old Krishna in his direction for a father figure.

Dell has been granted some visitation with Krishna but is seeking to expand his time with her.

The lawsuit, filed on January 26 in New York, is requesting that Lakshmi settle a co-parenting agreement. 

Dell has also challenged Lakshmi's lifestyle; he believes that her constant travel is not beneficial to the child.

Dell is a venture capitalist and the brother of Michael Dell, the owner of Dell Computers; Lakshmi is a model turned television host.

Viewers know Emmy-award winning Lakshmi, whose pregnancy coincided with the shows airing, for her uttering of the frequent phrase, "Please pack your bags and go."

Dell alleges in the suit that he is the better of the two to raise the child, and said he "is the parent who can be relied upon to put Krishna's needs before his own."

The suit goes on to say that Lakshmi's "career as a television personality and her commitment to celebrity status involve a hectic, irregular schedule and requires frequent and distant travel."

Currently Dell is given 9 days a month with Krishna.

Dell and Lakshmi broke up in September 2009 after a two-year relationship. Lakshmi said that Dell, as recounted in the lawsuit, was both "unambitious" and "uninteresting" in his career choice as a technology firms investor.

When Lakshmi announced her pregnancy Dell sought out a paternity test that linked him as the child's father.

Lakshmi was once married to novelist Salman Rushdie.

In her new relationship with Forstmann, IMG's chief executive of sports and entertainment marketing, she has initiated her child to call him "Papa." Dell is not only upset about this, he alleges that Lakshmi gave his daughter a middle name of Thea in a further attempt to link her to Forstmann.  Forstmann's middle name is Theodore.

Lakshmi claims to have first learned of the lawsuit in a New York Post headline.  One of Lakshmi's reps told Us Weekly, "Twenty-four hours after the New York Post was told about Adam Dell's lawsuit, neither Padma Lakshmi nor her lawyers has received a copy of it; they only learned of it through a statement Mr. Dell provided to the press."

Jay Silverstein, Lakshmi's lawyer said that the claims made in the lawsuit are both "inaccurate and misleading."

Spokeswoman Christina Papadopoulos said, "Ms. Lakshmi's sole interest lies in preserving the privacy and welfare of her daughter and in working out a fair and amicable agreement out of the media's glare."

If you need help establishing, or increasing, your rights in a child custody case, check our directory to contact a family law attorney that can help you today!