Kimora Lee Simmons<\/a> is speaking candidly about her daughter Aoki Lee Simmons<\/a>\u2019 former romance with a man 44 years her senior. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Appearing on the \u201c<\/span>Not Skinny But Not Fat<\/span><\/a>\u201d podcast this week, the Baby Phat founder and reality TV personality was asked how she first reacted upon learning Aoki Lee Simmons, then 21, had begun dating <\/span>65-year-old restaurateur Vittorio Assaf<\/span><\/a> nearly two years ago. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n At first, Kimora Lee Simmons seemed taken aback when host Amanda Hirsch described the relationship as \u201ca big deal for pop culture,\u201d but noted, \u201cI let my kids make their own mistakes.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cFirst of all, I know this guy. But I didn\u2019t know this guy in that capacity like with my kid or that you were even dating my kid,\u201d she explained in a clip from the podcast, per People<\/a>. \u201cI know this guy growing up myself. He\u2019s a restaurateur. I don\u2019t want to get into troubles legally, but I think his reputation probably precedes him. Is that OK to say legally? So I was learning some of these things as I went along, too.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Assaf, who is the co-founder of New York\u2019s Serafina Restaurant Group, and Aoki Lee Simmons were first romantically linked<\/a> in April 2024 when the two were spotted together in St. Barths. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Though Aoki Lee Simmons is a professional model who has appeared in Vogue and other outlets, her romantic partners prior to Assaf were not public figures. Assaf, however, had previously dated<\/a> model Nya Gatbel<\/a>, who was 22 at the time. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Though Assaf and Simmons\u2019 romance drew heavy media scrutiny, it was also short-lived, with the two reportedly going<\/a> their separate ways less than a month after their Caribbean getaway. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt blew up to be so much, so then you can\u2019t be the mom that\u2019s like, \u2018What the hell are you doing?\u2019 But that definitely was the thing,\u201d Kimora Lee Simmons said. \u201cIt went from 0 to 100 really quick, and I was like, \u2018Aoki, I didn\u2019t even know this was a thing.\u2019 I found out when the world found out. So that was what was so shocking.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n After comparing Assaf to Leonardo DiCaprio<\/a> and other male public figures known to date<\/a> younger women, Kimora Lee Simmons acknowledged that she, too, had experienced a \u201cbig age-gap relationship\u201d in the past. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI do think it\u2019s predatorial,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Kimora](\"https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/6938639b260000ef87836910.jpeg?cache=F8bqRCA0cZ&ops=scalefit_720_noupscale&format=webp)
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