'Top Chef' Star and Salman Rushdie Divorcing

Zap2It.com | July 2, 2007

'Top Chef' host/judge Padma Lakshmi

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Splitsville for Padma Lakshmi and "Satanic Verses" author

Padma Lakshmi, host of Bravo's "Top Chef," and recently knighted author Salman Rushdie are getting divorced.

Who'd have thunk it?

The 60-year-old "Satanic Verses" author and the 36-year-old former model were married in 2004 in New York City. It was his fourth marriage.

"Salman Rushdie has agreed to divorce his wife, Padma Lakshmi, because of her desire to end their marriage," the couple's rep told Reuters. "He asks that the media respect his privacy at this difficult time."

News of the Rushdie-Lakshmi divorce comes just weeks after several momentous events for the couple. On June 16, Rushdie was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth, 18 years after the Ayatollah Khomeini proclaimed a fatwa on the author, leading to a breakdown in diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Iran. Just days earlier, Bravo premiered "Top Chef: Miami," Lakshmi's second season as host.

Rushdie's novels include the Booker Prize-winning "Midnight's Children," "The Satanic Verses," "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" and, most recently, "Shalimar the Clown."

In addition to her "Top Chef" gig, Lakshmi has written several bestselling cook books and appeared in the feature "Glitter."