Padma Lakshmi & Melissa King Relationship Explained

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What’s up with Padma Lakshmi and Melissa King?

Both of these big names in the world of TV chefs have been joined at the hip for some time.

Now, Lakshmi is straight-up nudging King to not spur “rumors” about them.

That ship may have sailed. See for yourself:

If you saw the Instagram video that DelishYES shared, you saw Padma Lakshmi and Melissa King attending the Tuesday, November 4 book launch at Semma in New York.

There’s a lot going on at the event (including some prominent and delicious sponsorship that has some of us craving pomegranate seeds).

One eye-catching moment was television host Lakshmi laughing while Top Chef winner King ists on her lap.

Lakshmi has a hand over her face.

King, meanwhile, has a hand on Lakshmi’s arm.

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Days later, Lakshmi and King shared a joint Instagram video.

This time, instead of partying it up, they were cooking.

During the Sunday, November 9 video, King couldn’t help but admire Lakshmi’s nails.

She complimented them, saying that they “are so gay right now.”

A laughing Lakshmi countered with a playful-sounding: “Stop starting rumors.”

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In October, Padma Lakshmi gushed about her bond with Melissa King in an interview with People.

“Melissa is somebody whose cooking I always loved,” she raved.

“She’s fun and we enjoy each other’s company,” Lakshmi affirmed.

“She tends to be my plus one sometimes,” she acknowledged. “So people will see us on the red carpet together.”

Other former contestants whom she often sees include Gregory Gourdet, Kwame Onwuachi, and Kristen Kish.

Speaking of Lakshmi and King attending events together, they also wore what one might characterize as couples costumes recently.

Lakshmi dressed as Morticia Addams.

And King dressed as Gomez Addams.

If you are not familiar with The Addams Family lore, Morticia and Gomez are married and are famously one of the most devoted and loving couples in all of fiction.

Often, platonic friends dress in matching costumes — including depicting romantic couples — because it’s fun to pair up costumes. But, yes, fans took notice.

In 2020, Melissa King won Season 17 of Top Chef, with host Padma Lakshmi being the one who announced the win.

That was not King’s first time on the show. She had competed in Season 12, years earlier.

At the time, Lakshmi praised King on social media. And, over the years, they have clearly developed a fierce bond.

However, we’d like to note that King complimenting Lakshmi’s nails isn’t going to start rumors.

As commenters on social media have already pointed out, Lakshmi and King’s cozy rapport has already had people speculating about the nature of their relationship for years.

Padma Lakshmi & Melissa King Relationship Explained was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.