In 2022, entrepreneur and IPL founder Lalit Modi had taken social media by storm when he officially announced his relationship with Sushmita Sen. While their social media posts grabbed all the eyeballs, it unwittingly also drew brickbats for Sushmita Sen who was labelled as ‘gold digger’ in the relationship. In a recent podcast, Lalit Modi addressed the subject, defending Sushmita Sen against all the ‘gold digger’ criticism.

Speaking to Humans of Bombay, Lalit said, “Please understand that Sushmita is a very beautiful and very well-to-do lady. She has more diamonds than anybody I know on the planet, and she has earned them herself. She has diamond stores. She has done it all on her own. There wasn’t a single time that I went out with Sushmita that I had to pay for anything. She paid for everything. I was like a kept boyfriend.”

Further praising Sushmita for her self-built status, Lalit added, “Sushmita is a remarkable and a self-made lady. She will never accept anything from anybody. So when somebody says she was a gold digger, I was a diamond digger. She was truly a diamond. She could have anybody on the planet she wanted. It was never about money. She can buy anything she wants, do anything she wants,” he added.

Elaborating on reasons why they parted ways, the IPL founder added, “Sushmita was very special to me. She made me grow into a lot of things I am today. She was very much a part of my life back then. It’s just that the distances were too much. Her career was in India, and my life was in London. She is still a very dear friend.”

While Sushmita officially never confirmed the relationship, she had made an Instagram post with the caption, “I am in a happy place!! Not married...No rings...Unconditionally surrounded by love. Enough clarifications given...now back to life & work!!” Although Lalit Modi never confirmed it later, the couple reportedly broke up a few months later.