Kimora Lee Simmons is finally speaking on her daughter Aoki Lee Simmons’ headline-making relationship with Serafina Restaurant Group founder Vittorio Assaf, who was 65 at the time. The pair made headlines back in April 2024 after being spotted together in St. Barths, but Kimora says she found out about it the same time everyone else did, PEOPLE reported.
In a preview for her upcoming appearance on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, the mogul sat down with host Amanda Hirsch to address the situation head-on — and she didn’t hold back. “I let my kids make their own mistakes, like I said. That’s the whole thing we were saying about living out your life in public, and I think that’s very, very, very tough,” she explained. “I don’t even know… first of all, I know this guy. But I didn’t know this guy in that capacity like with my kid or that you were even dating my kid.”
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Kimora Admits She Knew Assaf, But Not “In That Capacity”
The Baby Phat founder shared that she already knew Vittorio Assaf from her own time in New York’s fashion and social scene — but never expected to see her daughter linked to him romantically.
“I know this guy growing up myself. He’s a restaurateur. I don’t know, I don’t want to get into troubles legally but I think his reputation probably precedes him. Is that okay to say legally?” she said on the podcast.
Kimora explained that she was just as surprised as the public when photos of the two went viral, adding that she didn’t even get the chance to talk to Aoki about it before the story hit the internet.
“So that was what was so shocking. 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,”
Kimora Calls Out the Age Gap: “I Think It’s Predatorial”
While Kimora made it clear she gives her kids room to grow and make their own choices, she didn’t mince words about her feelings on relationships with major age gaps — especially when older men date much younger women.
“It was a lot. But I do think in general, of those kinds of things, I feel like and having gone through not exactly the same but similar… that big age gap relationship, let’s just call it that,”
Kimora, who’s had her own experience with high-profile relationships, said she sees such dynamics as problematic and predatory. “I do think it’s predatorial. We said all of that to get to what Kimora thinks about it. I think that’s predatorial and kinda crazy,” she added.
Aoki and Assaf’s Relationship Sparked Online Debate
When photos of Aoki Lee Simmons and Vittorio Assaf surfaced online last year, the internet quickly lit up with reactions. Many criticized the relationship’s 44-year age gap, while others defended Aoki’s right to make her own choices as an adult.
The two reportedly met in St. Barths, where Assaf, a well-known restaurateur, often hosts high-profile guests and owns properties. Their brief romance reportedly ended shortly after going public, though neither side has spoken much about it since.
Kimora’s comments mark the first time she’s publicly addressed the situation, offering an honest — and maternal — perspective on how she handled the controversy.