Padma Lakshmi reveals reality behind gorgeous Instagram photo: ‘I’m exhausted here’

Padma Lakshmi is getting real with her Instagram followers after posting a photo from a sensual jewelry shoot where she explains the reality of what she was feeling that day.

The Top Chef host shared the throwback photo to social media on Wednesday with a quote from Oprah reading "You can have it all, just not all at once." Lakshmi then went on to reflect on a moment where she felt herself losing control over her life.

"This is me in our jewelry campaign for The Padma Collection," she captioned the photo. "I’m exhausted here, not only from doing Top Chef, losing the weight and running a jewelry company on the side but from all of the stresses that come with being a sole business owner."

The gorgeous photo, featuring Lakshmi in a blazer with a plunging neckline, shows off a few pieces from her short-lived jewelry line that launched at Bergdorf Goodman. Still, as admitted in her recent post, it quickly became too much for her.

"A year from when this picture was taken I had to make the difficult decision as a new mom to close my company, my lover was dying of cancer, and I just couldn't handle it all," she wrote.

Lakshmi gave birth to her daughter Krishna, who she shares with Adam Dell, in February 2010. Not even one year later her boyfriend at the time, Theodore Teddy Forstmann, died from brain cancer. Lakshmi later opened up about his death on an episode of Hollywood Medium.

"I already know that I have a very deep connection with this person. I just miss [him]," she told Tyler Henry of Forstmann in 2018. "He had a different way of doing things. He did not take himself too seriously, which is refreshing in someone who is that accomplished. He was really humble. He had self confidence. He had swagger. He was a man with a huge ego but he wore his uniqueness lightly."

While reflecting on Instagram, Lakshmi concluded, "I learned so much about my priorities during that time."

People quickly praised Lakshmi in the comments for the beautiful reminder.

"Wise words. Life is so precious, fleeting. You never know what's around the corner," one wrote.

Another commented, "Thank you for sharing this and I'm sorry to hear you went through this. A friend told me there is power in saying no, and prioritising is everything especially when there's a young child in the picture. Thank you for this important message."

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