Padma Lakshmi Sizzles in New Lingerie Shoot, Talks Embracing Body in 50s

Padma Lakshmi launched a new collaboration with intimates brand Bare Necessities on Thursday, which she says came about after struggling to find lingerie that was both comfortable and sexy for women her age. At 53, the former Top Chef host is aware of her changing body, but she also has a newfound confidence because of it.

Speaking with Page Six, Lakshmi said that other than when she was pregnant and breastfeeding (she has one child, a daughter born in 2010), she had otherwise stayed the same size since she was a college freshman until about four years ago.

"A few years ago, I started going into perimenopause and my hormones changed, and my boobs got bigger," she explained. "I wasn’t fitting into the bras that I had—and I had collected really beautiful bras!"

"I’ve modeled a lot of lingerie in my time, and I love lingerie. I love wearing really pretty things," Lakshmi continued. "But I also really like being comfortable. And I’ve found as my bust size has grown, there are fewer things that are available to me that I feel are both beautiful and comfortable."

"They’re either really gorgeous and uncomfortable … [or] they just look so matronly and orthopedic," she noted. "And frankly, I didn’t feel that those were made for my tastes."

But overall, Lakshmi says she has more confidence now, physically and otherwise. "I would never go back to my 20s," she added. "Even if it meant I had a body that was more fit and skinny and tight and and high in all the right places. You know, I look OK now!"

Lakshmi also spoke about the importance of being confident in a video debuting her new collaboration, which she posted to Instagram on Thursday.

"I think the biggest sign of confidence is when you can lay yourself bare," she says in the short clip, in which she models several pieces from the line. "Baring it all—that you have nothing to hide. And it's just baring your soul. Or maybe just baring what you want."