Padma Lakshmi revealed why she left Top Chef after hosting the Bravo competition show for 17 years.
On Thursday, August 24, Lakshmi explained her thought process in an interview with Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast. “I had been on location for eight months out of the year. And when I wasn’t on location, I was in pre- and post-production for both my shows,” she explained by pointing to Top Chef and her Hulu series, Taste the Nation. “And I was looking at edits of one show while on the set of another show. It was just exhausting and untenable for me to continue that way.”
Lakshmi continued by saying that because of her hectic schedule, she didn’t have much time for dating. “I haven’t had a relationship in a long time either, because I’m always working. I don’t know when I think I was going to meet anybody,” she said. “I’m surrounded by people I either employ or employ me, and neither of those [groups of] people are appropriate [for a romantic relationship].”
She went on to say that she wanted to spend longer with Krishna, her 13-year-old daughter with ex-Adam Dell. “It was also about having a personal life, to be honest, and also being present for my daughter — she’s a teenager,” Lakshmi said. “In five years, she’s going to go off and have her own life and hopefully go to college and stuff. It wasn’t an easy decision.”
Taste the Nation, which debuted in 2020, has yet to be renewed for a 3rd season, however, Lakshmi stated on Thursday that the Hulu series wasn’t the only factor in her decision to leave Top Chef. “Other complex factors went into me just being done with Top Chef, which we don’t have time to go into here,” she continued. “But I think I just thought, ‘If I’m feeling this way, then I’ve got to trust my gut.’ I’ve also got to make room in my life and my schedule for new things to bubble up.”