Padma Lakshmi on Her Recent Custody Battle: "I Didn't Lose Anything"
host and former model Padma Lakshmi says that she "didn't lose anything" by settling out of court with venture capitalist Adam Dell, who was suing her for full custody of their toddler daughter, Krishna.
"[Krishna] just turned 2 years old and she's a beautiful, healthy, happy baby, and I didn't lose anything." she told "Extra." " There was nothing to lose -- she's a delight and joy."
Lakshmi, 41, and Dell, 42, settled out of court, The New York Post reported. In addition to hashing out an agreement about custody and visitation rights, the settlement includes formally changing Krishna's last name from Lakshmi to Lakshmi-Dell.
"Padma basically said it was fine to add his name, but she retains all decision-making power, which is really what matters most to her," a source close to Lakshmi told People magazine. "She makes all the decisions on education, health, everything."
"It's been very difficult for her," the source added. "She's happy that its over, that it was settled out of court and that nobody won or lost."
Lakshmi's battle with Dell turned ugly even before their daughter was born. The two started dating in 2007, but by 2009, Dell said, Lakshmi was emotionally withdrawn and verbally abusive. When she told him that she was pregnant, she also revealed that she was dating businessman Ted Forstmann at the same time and said that she thought Forstmann was the father.
A DNA test -- conducted while Lakshmi was still pregnant -- proved otherwise, and in January Dell sued for full custody of their now 2-year-old daughter, claiming that Lakshmi had prevented him from spending time with her and was trying to "minimize, if not eliminate, his role in Krishna's life." In spite of the DNA test results, Dell said that he was only allowed to see the girl a few hours a week, and that Lakshmi had urged the tot used to call Forstmann "Papa." Forstmann died in November, but established a trust fund for Krishna.
At the time of the lawsuit, Lakshmi had not yet named the father of her child. Instead, she has consistently said that she's a single parent.
"One thing I'll say, in truth -- I am a single parent. But I don't feel alone at all in parenting my daughter," she told Yahoo! Shine late last year, before admitting that Dell was Krishna's father. "I have a big family, who I am surrounded by, and friends. Krishna has a whole other side of her family who loves her, too. And so Krishna is parented by me, but also by her grandmother and aunts and cousins and uncles and friends. It's a corny thing, but it does take a village. The more who encompass her, the more different-kinds of people who are in Krishna's life, the better off she is."
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