14 DAY TRIAL // Though it was never confirmed in the first place, Richard Gere has put an end to the romance between him and Padma Lakshmi, according to Page Six, which has been documenting it for the past six months. The actor and the “Top Chef” host are said to have called it quits after several months of dating in secret.
The news comes after Lakshmi was asked in a recent TV interview about her current love life and she confirmed to the inquisitive audiences that she was, in fact, single at the moment, indicating that her relationship with silver fox Richard Gere had ended some time ago.
The long-distance relationship was broken up by busy schedules
Sources close to the couple said that the rupture came because of their busy schedules, which forced them apart for long periods of time. In the end, the couple “decided they would be better as friends.”
The press took an active interest in the love life of Richard Gere after the actor divorced his long-time wife and was back on the market in no time. The first rumors about his latest relationship began flying around in April, when Gere and Lakshmi were seen dining out and a source confirmed that they were more than just friends.
The fact that both of them struggled to remain out of sight made it very difficult to get any updates on their friendship. Indeed, throughout the course of their courtship, they were only spotted together a couple of times, mostly in restaurants for dinners.
Gere might have also fooled around during the summer
Over the summer, however, Gere was spotted with a mystery brunette who was not Lakshmi, and that was the first time it was speculated that distance and work might be taking their toll on the love story between the actor and the TV presenter.
Lakshmi and Gere seemed to be on the same page for a while. He was newly divorced from his wife and in search of new excitement in his life and she was separated from author Salman Rushdie since 2007 after a 3-year marriage. Since then, she also dated billionaire Teddy Forstmann until he died of brain cancer in 2011.
The TV host has a 3-year-old daughter with venture capitalist Adam Dell, the brother of famous computer maker Michael Dell, so her preference to date Richard Gere seemed a new venture for her, considering that she preferred businessmen in the past.
The pair hasn't confirmed the split, but then again, they never confirmed the romance in the first place.