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The Daily Dish Top Chef

Who Are the Men in Padma Lakshmi's Life?

Get to know the #TopChef host's former flames a little better.

By Jocelyn Vena

Padma Lakshmi does not hold back in her memoir, Love, Loss, and What We Ate. And that includes sharing that she was initially unsure of which of her boyfriends was the father of her daughter when she found out she was pregnant back in 2009. "A question began to nag at my giddiness: not so much 'How?' but the far more uncomfortable 'Who?'" the Top Chef host writes in the book, via People, about once being romantically involved with two men, Adam Dell and Teddy Forstmann. It was later confirmed that Adam was the child's father. With their love triangle now in the spotlight thanks to her memoir, we're taking a closer look at who these intriguing two men are.

How to Watch

Watch the Top Chef Season 21 premiere on Wednesday, March 20 at 9/8c on Bravo and next day on Peacock.

Adam Dell

Adam, 46, is an Austin-based venture capitalist who works for Austin Ventures. The Texas-native attended Tulane University and later the University of Texas School of Law before starting his professional career. Previously, he not only invested in companies like OpenTable, Buzzsaw, Ingenio, and Hotjobs, but before moving into the venture capitalist space he worked as a corporate attorney, putting that law degree to good work. However he's not the only Dell who has made a name for himself. His brother, Michael Dell, is the founder of a little company known as Dell Computers. In addition to his work at Austin Ventures, he is also a visiting professor at the law school where he studied. And while things were a once tense between Adam and Padma following the news of her pregnancy, she says that they are on much better terms now. "We certainly get the badge for Most Improved," Padma said.

Teddy Forstmann

Before making his billion-dollar fortune —yes, billion with a "b'" — the Connecticut native attended Yale University and studied law at Columbia University. He founded the private equity firm Forstmann Little in the 1970's, with his brother and a close friend. In 2004, he invested in sports management firm IMG, which at the time represented the likes of Derek Jeter and Heidi Klum. Under his leadership, he turned it into a global brand, according to Forbes. In addition to his nose for business and passion for philanthropy, Teddy knew a thing or two about the gossip pages. Prior to his relationship with Padma, he had been linked to Elizabeth Hurley and Princess Diana. He never married, but does have two sons, Everest and Siya, whom he adopted after meeting them at an orphanage in South Africa. Teddy died in 2011, at 71, after a battle with brain cancer. Despite not being Krishna's father, he reportedly left a portion of his $1.8 billion fortune to her. 

Speaking of Padma's past, check out her throwback modeling photos, below.

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