Indian-born best-selling author Salman Rushdie confirmed the imminence of his divorce from Indian model/cook/actress Padma Lakshmi on Monday.

Rushdie,60, and Lakshmi,36, married in April 2004, in a Hindu ceremony. They had met in 1999 at a magazine launch party.

The couple, who have no children, announced their divorce Monday. A statement from Rushdie’s agent said: “Salman Rushdie has agreed to divorce his wife Padma Lakshmi because of her desire to end their marriage. He asks that the media respect his privacy at this difficult time.”

A separate statement came from Lakshmi’s publicist, Christina Papadopoulos, saying that the Indian celebrity “has agreed with her husband-author, Salman Rushdie, to end their marriage.”

“After an 8-year relationship including over three years of marriage, Lakshmi regrets that their mutual efforts failed to make the marriage work,” the statement said.

This is Rushdie’s fourth marriage, Lakshmi’s first.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that the British-Indian novelist was honored with a knighthood from Britain. After the divorce, the former model who turned to acting and professional cooking will be referred to as Lady Lakshmi.