Richard Gere is dating Padma Lakshmi.

A source told the New York Post's Page Six: "They have been quietly spending some time together. It is all very new and recent, and happened while he has been filming in New York."

Another insider told UsMagazine.com: "It started very recently and quietly. 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're just getting to know each other. They're just having fun."

Richard, who has a son Homer, 14, with Carey, is currently filming 'Time Out of Mind' in the city, a drama about a man who enters a shelter when he runs out of housing options and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter.

Former model Padma, 43, was previously married to author Salman Rushdie for three years until 200,7 and dated billionaire Teddy Forstmann until he died of brain cancer in 2011 at the age of 71.

The presenter has a three-year-old daughter, Krishna Thea Lakshmi-Dell, with Adam Dell, the venture capitalist brother of computer maker Michael Dell.

Richard and Carey never officially confirmed they were separating but were said to have been living apart for some time before their split.

The 'Pretty Woman' actor was also previously married to Cindy Crawford for four years until 1995.