Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi admits she didn't know who her child's father was when she first learned she was pregnant, as she reveals she was sexually abused at age 7

Model and Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi today revealed that she did not know the paternity of her child when she first discovered she was pregnant with her daughter.

The 45-year-old admitted that when she found out she was expecting Krishna, now aged six, in 2009 the revelation 'sent a shock through my body' not only because she believed she could not have children, but she couldn't be sure of who her baby's father was.

The Indian-born star, who has struggled with severe endometriosis, which can cause infertility, explained to People that she had been told by her doctor she would never conceive 'the old fashioned way' because of her condition.

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Mother and daughter: Padma Kakshmi, 45, has revealed that she was unsure of the paternity of her six-year-old daughter Krishna when she first found out she was pregnant in 2009

Dating: When she conceived Krishna, Padma said she was seeing the late Teddy Forstmann, pictured left in 2010, who died in 2011, and 46-year-old Adam Dell, pictured right in 2009

'I was shocked and elated,' she explained. 'And then I was like: "Hold on, wait a minute."'

At the time, Padma said that she was dating both the late IMG CEO and billionaire Teddy Forstmann, who died in 2011 aged 71, and Adam Dell, brother of Dell Computer founder Michael.

Padma insisted that she was honest with both partners by telling them she was also dating others, but that didn't stop the pregnancy from coming as a shock to both her - and them.

Particularly as she and Adam had actually broken up in February 2009, almost exactly a year before her daughter was born, before 'falling back together briefly in June'. 

In her new memoir Love, Loss and What We Ate, she describes how soon after she found out she was pregnant she realized she was unsure of the child's paternity.

'A question began to nag at my giddiness: not so much "How?" but the far more uncomfortable "Who?"' 

Describing the moment she told Teddy, who she claims was furious at the news, Padma said his face went 'white, then beet red'.

She writes: 'It was as if the room could not contain him, or as if his body could not contain his fury at the information he had just received.'

Ballers: Padma, pictured with Krishna at a basketball game together at Madison Square Garden in December, New York City, in December, said she had been told by doctors she could not get pregnant naturally

Difficult times: Padma, who is pictured in the first grade, between the ages of six and seven, also spoke out about the abuse she suffered at the hands of a relative of her then-stepfather when she was seven

Following a paternity test that showed he was not in fact the father, Padma claims he 'implored' her to keep the results to herself and said he would raise the child as his own - an offer which she declined. 

Then Padma said he accompanied her to the sonogram and pointed to the screen saying: 'This is all we need to think about. This is all that matters.'

He later reportedly had his will changed to give an undisclosed sum to Krishna before he died.

It wasn't until after his death, that Adam's name was added to Krishna's birth certificate, following a bitter custody battle between the two parents in the Manhattan Supreme Court, during which time Adam claimed his former partner tried to prevent him from seeing their little girl.

Reflecting on the incident, she said: 'The fact that it was public was excruciating because it’s a very private matter but that was nothing compared to how I had hurt Teddy.'

She has dedicated her memoir to him and said the moment is a 'great example' of his character. 

Paying tribute to his loyalty, she said: 'He wasn’t going to leave my side. Maybe he didn’t know if he could stay in a romantic relationship with me or not.

'I think neither of us knew what was going to happen but he was resolute in making sure I wasn’t alone. He held my hand and he held it very publicly.'

Split: Padma describes how her endometriosis was a 'major reason' for the collapse of her marriage to ex-husband Sir Salman Rushdie, with whom she says she remains friends

Also in her new memoir, Padma reveals that she was sexually abused when she was seven years old by a friend of her stepfather at the time.

While she was living with her mother in a two-bedroom apartment in Queens, New York, she revealed that she sometimes had to share a bed with the man, and recalls one night that she 'woke up to his hand in my underpants'.

She added: 'He took my hand and placed it inside his briefs. I don't know how many times it happened before, since I suspect I slept through some incidents.'

However, after telling her mother what happened, she was soon sent to India, explaining that she remembers detailing the abuse to her mom - who, she says 'believed her'. But when her mother described the abuse to her stepfather, he refused to accept their claims.

Just a few days later, she was sent off to India. 

Speaking about her decision to share the painful memory from her past, Padma admitted that she believes if 'women like her' don't speak up about their experiences, there will be nobody else for other people who are suffering similar abuse to look to for hope and support.  

Strong: Padma, pictured at an event in New York today, told how she was sexually assaulted aged seven

Role model: Padma said she wanted to share her story of sexual abuse because if she does not, 'who will?'

Padma, who married author Sir Salman Rushdie in 2004, also documents the collapse of their marriage in the book - claiming that her endometriosis was a 'major reason' that their marriage failed.

She said: 'Endometriosis was definitely a major reason that my marriage failed and I don't think either of us understood it at the time. 

'I think that's also because I hid it to a certain degree, not intentionally but you know, it's weird to talk about your period all the time. It's like the least sexy thing in the world to do.'

She said he 'took it personally' and 'felt rejected', adding: 'I can understand that'.

Following their split, she says the former couple remain friends and that he gave her his blessing to write the book.

'He said, "You have the right to tell your side of the story as you see it,"' she said. 'I mean, look, he's the most famous proponent of free speech...Plus, he is a big boy. He can take care of it.'