There’s a new man heating up Padma Lakshmi’s love life.
The “Top Chef” host was seen cozying up to an unidentified mystery man Monday night in New York City, holding hands and kissing the tall fellow as she walked her pup, Divina.
Lakshmi has been on-again, off-again with venture capitalist Adam Dell since 2009. A source confirmed to Page Six on Tuesday that the couple — who share 11-year-old daughter Krishna Thea — split earlier this year.
“Adam and Padma broke up shortly after the new year; it was very amicable,” the source explained. “They are intent on staying the best of friends and remain like family.”
The couple “are still very close and are committed to co-parenting their daughter, Krishna, who has always been their first priority,” they added.
For date night with her unidentified new man, the culinary enthusiast wore a simple white dress and wedge sandals. The gent donned a striped black tee, jeans and slide sandals as he hugged and pecked the 50-year-old beauty through her face mask.
Lakshmi and Dell had quite the journey as a couple. They began dating in 2009 — two years after her divorce from novelist Salman Rushdie — before splitting up. Lakshmi welcomed Krishna the following year, and an ensuing custody battle was settled amicably in 2012.
Page Six exclusively reported that the pair were back on as of 2017, and Lakshmi was spotted wearing a massive diamond ring on her left hand in 2019, though her reps denied the sparkler was an engagement ring.
In September 2020, the soon-to-be exes celebrated Lakshmi’s 50th birthday together with daughter Krishna both pool and beachside. However, reflecting on what she called a year that “has been a mix of misery and elation,” she mentioned Dell, saying, “But personally, at home things were peaceful.”
“We made a cocoon for our family. We lived for the first time all under one roof. We became closer … I am truly blessed: a loving and attentive partner, a child that continues to be a miracle every day and work that I am proud of and fully engaged by with people I love.”