T.V. host Pamda Lakshmi and author Salman Rushdie to divorce

“Top Chef” host Padma Lakshmi and British author Salman Rushdie are getting a divorce. Rushdie and Lakshmi, a former model, were married in 2004 but are getting divorced at Lakshmi’s request.

Jin Auh, Rushdie’s spokeswoman, said “Salman Rushdie has agreed to divorce his wife, Padma Lakshmi, because of her desire to end their marriage. He asks that the media respect his privacy at this difficult time.”

Rushdie is best known for his novel “The Satanic Verses.” The novel sparked outrage among Muslims which forced him to go into hiding for nine years. In 1989 Iran’s supreme religious leader ordered Rushdie to be killed because of “blasphemy” in the novel. He recently was selected for knighthood by Queen Elizabeth.

Lakshmi began her career as a model and then moved on to acting and writing cookbooks. She now hosts the cooking show “Top Chef” on Bravo cable network.

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