Padma Lakshmi has admitted that she is careful in her love life because of her 4-year-old daughter Krishna Thea.
"As you get older, I think it's harder to meet the right person," the 44-year-old "Top Chef" host told reporters Tuesday, Oct. 28, at the Elton John AIDS Foundation's 13th Annual Enduring Vision Benefit in New York City, according to People. "You just want to be careful because you have a family."
"I date a lot less as a single mom - I'll tell you that!" she added. "I just don't have time."
Lakshmi was recently romantically linked to Richard Gere. Earlier this month, she and the 65-year-old "Pretty Woman" actor split after six months of dating, Page Six reported.
A source told the New York Post's column that the two "decided they would be better as friends."
Lakshmi and Gere started dating in April after the Golden Globe-winning actor had broken up with Carey Lowell, his wife of 11 years.
"It started very recently and quietly. It's very new," a tipster told Us Weekly at the time. "I wouldn't even go as far as calling them a couple. They are dating. It's the first time Padma has dated anyone since Teddy [Forstmann, who died in 2011], and it's something she's been approaching very, very delicately."
The insider added: "They're just getting to know each other. They're just having fun."
At the EJAF event, which funds HIV/AIDS prevention programs and treatment, the Indian-born American cookbook author was also asked about her daughter's Halloween costume. "It changes every week," Lakshmi, told People, noting that Wonder Woman is still in the running.
As for the sweet holiday's treats, Lakshmi said she is okay with Krishna indulging, but only in moderation.
"I let her keep it," Lakshmi said of Halloween sweets. "It's once a year, so I let her gorge herself, and then she'll feel like, 'Okay, I've had enough.' Usually when I do that, it's better than saying, 'No, you can't have it.'"
Lakshmi filmed the twelfth season of her Bravo reality cooking show in Boston this summer. It is set to premiere later this year.
