14 DAY TRIAL // Richard Gere manages to remain under the radar, despite the best efforts of the paparazzi and the media, who are now eager to follow his new romance with Padma Lakshmi after his divorce. The couple has been dodging the headlines, but it's now being divulged that they are still together.
Page Six was informed by an eyewitness that the couple had been spotted at a Greek restaurant in Englewood, New Jersey, where they enjoyed a nice dinner made up of fresh whole fish and Greek dips.
The eyewitness is quoted as saying that “They kept to themselves, but they looked like a couple. She was giving him design tips.” This last part has sparked rumors that Gere is looking for a home in the area. Whether Padma will also be living there it's still a mystery, but one that the media is keen to uncover.
At the end of July, Gere was again spotted in a restaurant in Southampton, except that time he wasn't with Lakshmi, with the media speculating on his new conquest, a mystery brunette. The “Pretty Woman” actor seemed to be hitting the dating scene hard, having finalized his divorce from his wife of 11 years, Carey Lowell.
The first time Gere and Lakshmi sparked relationship rumors was back in April. Since then he and Lakshmi have popped up here and there out on the town, on what looked like dates. The reason for the slow advance of their romance was given as busy schedules which are often times conflicting with one another.
Officially, neither Gere nor his wife Carey Lowell, have come forward to announce their divorce, but it's believed that they had been living apart for months before their split, sharing custody of their 14-year-old son Homer.
Lakshmi, who is a 42-year-old former model, lives in New York with her 3-year-old daughter Krishna and she has been reaching out timidly to Gere for months now.
An insider was quoted as saying back in April when they were first spotted together in town that “It's very new. 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], and it's something she's been approaching very, very delicately. They just getting to know each other. They're just having fun.”
Things seem to have progressed since then as the couple is now thinking of moving in with each other. Otherwise, why would Lakshmi be giving Richard Gere styling tips?