London: British author Salman Rushdie and his wife Padma Lakshmi are getting divorced at her request, his spokeswoman said on Monday, just two weeks after he was awarded a controversial knighthood.
Rushdie, 60, is best known for his novel "The Satanic Verses," which outraged many Muslims and sparked death threats that forced him to live in hiding for nine years.
He married Lakshmi, a former model born in India, in 2004. She was his fourth wife and the couple had no children.
Spokeswoman Jin Auh said, "Salman Rushdie has agreed to divorce his wife, Padma Lakshmi, because of her desire to end their marriage. He asks that the media respect his privacy at this difficult time."
Rushdie hit the headlines two weeks ago when he was selected for knighthood by Britain's Queen Elizabeth, provoking renewed anger among some Muslims in Iran and Pakistan.
