Kimora Lee Simmons recently shared her thoughts on discovering her daughter, Aoki Lee Simmons, was involved in a relationship with a significant age difference.
In April, it came to light that Aoki Lee, a Harvard graduate, was linked to 65-year-old Vittorio Assaf, the restaurateur behind Serafina Restaurant Group.
The two reportedly met in Saint Barthélemy, a popular vacation destination for the Simmons family, with insiders informing People that they were spending time together.
Images of the couple sharing a kiss on the beach began circulating, as Page Six reported. However, it was later noted by People that the relationship has since ended.
When Kimora, who shares Aoki and her sister, Ming Lee, with former spouse Russell Simmons, learned of her 21-year-old daughter’s involvement with an older man, she was taken aback.
During a discussion on Amanda Hirsch’s Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, Kimora openly talked about her reaction to the brief relationship.
Reflecting on her ‘real-time’ response, the reality TV personality said: “I let my kids make their own mistakes… That’s the whole thing we were saying about living out your life in public, and I think that’s very, very, very tough.
“I don’t even think that was a moment for them, though. Or I should say the opposite. I think it was just that – a moment. I don’t think it was anything else.”
The Life in the Fab Lane star mentioned that although she knew Assaf ‘growing up’, she “didn’t know this guy in that capacity like with my kid or that you were even dating my kid.”
Hirsch questioned her, asking: “Were you like, ‘What the hell are you doing to Aoki,’ or no?”
Kimora confessed that she did feel that way, but given how quickly the relationship developed, she was cautious about her response as a mother.
“It was this fast,” she explained. “And it blew up to be so much, so then you can’t be the mom that’s like, ‘What the hell are you doing?’
“But that definitely was the thing.”
She further commented: “But it went from 0 to 100 really quick, and I was like, ‘Aoki, I didn’t even know this was a thing.’
“I found out when the world found out. So that was what was so shocking.”
Kimora added: “And you can’t say as a mom, and I’ve learned all these crazy things. You can’t give the, ‘I told you so,’ right now. You can’t give the ‘What the hell are you doing’ right now. You can’t give those things right now.”
She expressed her concerns regarding large age-gap relationships, describing them as ‘predatorial’ based on her personal experiences.
“I feel like…having gone through not exactly the same but similar…that big age gap relationship, let’s just call it that. I do think it’s predatorial.”
UNILAD has reached out to Assaf’s representatives for a statement.