Lalit Modi Comes Out Strongly In Support of Former Girlfriend Sushmita Sen Over ‘Gold Digger’ Tag, Calls Her ‘True Diamond’

LALIT MODI DEFENDS SUSHMITA SEN: In 2022, Sushmita Sen left the internet stunned when, on social media, she posted, “I dig deeper than gold, I dig always (famously) diamonds! Yes, I still purchase them myself.” This came after the actress was being dubbed as a ‘gold digger’ after her relationship with businessman Lalit Modi became public in 2022.  Now, in a latest interview, Lalit Modi has come to her defence, revealing, “Criticism is uncalled for; Sen was not, nor ever was, financially at my mercy,” Modi said in a recent conversation with Humans of Bombay. Indeed, he laughed that he felt like a “kept boyfriend” when he used to go out with her, and that she is a true diamond. 

Lalit Modi defends Sushmita Sen on ‘gold digger’ tag

Lalit Modi also reminisced on her fondly, calling her an important part of his life and a dear friend. He said it was an impulsive decision and that triggered a reaction they both didn’t expect in 2022 when they posted about their relationship on social media.

Modi laid it out: she made it on her own, no shortcuts. “Sushmita’s gorgeous, successful, and nobody handed her anything,” he said. “If you’re counting diamonds, she’s got more than most people I’ve met, and she earned every single one. She even owned diamond stores.”

Lalit Modi: I was like a kept boyfriend

He really wanted to clear this up, revealing that Sushmita never leaned on him financially while they were together. “Honestly, not once did I pick up the bill. She paid for everything. At times, I joked I was the kept boyfriend,” he said. Modi laughed about how Sushmita never liked taking gifts. That gold digger label? Totally off base. “She just wouldn’t accept things from people, so calling her a gold digger makes no sense.”

He even threw in a joke, grinning, “If anything, Lalit was the diamond digger.” Then he called Sushmita the real diamond.

Lalit Modi opens up about viral 2022 social media post

Modi talked about that Instagram post from 2022, the one everyone freaked out over. He said it wasn’t some big PR moment. “I posted it right in front of her. She never thought I’d actually do it. We were on a plane, bickering about something, and she said, ‘You’re not going to post that.’ I just laughed and hit upload.”

They were flying back to London that day. The reaction? Wild. “Before we even landed, it blew up, the kind of attention nobody expects,” he said. “But honestly, there was nothing wrong with it. She never told me to take it down, and I never thought about deleting it.”

When did Lalit Modi and Sushmita Sen first meet? 

Lalit Modi and Sushmita Sen, the Bollywood actress, first met in the year 2010 at a wedding ceremony held in Italy. As per reports, the two had become close friends after attending the wedding ceremony of Tanvi Jindal and Krishna Shete, and they were later seen spending time in Rome and Florence. They have been friends for many years now, and Sushmita Sen has previously known Modi’s late wife, Minal

When did Lalit Modi and Sushmita Sen break up? 

Lalit Modi and Sushmita Sen broke up on February 14, 2025, as Lalit Modi himself admitted that he was in a new relationship. Lalit and Sushmita’s very public romance first came into the limelight in July 2022, when Lalit Modi had posted a picture of both of them and introduced her as his better half. However, speculations about their breakup started surfacing in August 2022, but they got officially separated in February 2025.

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