Kimora Lee Simmons said she was blindsided and worried after her then-21-year-old daughter Aoki Lee, briefly dated 65-year-old restaurateur Vittorio Assaf in April 2024. In an exclusive clip of Kimora’s appearance on the “Not Skinny But Not Fat Podcast,” the entrepreneur said she let her children “make their own mistakes,” but admitted she found the age gap “predatorial” and alarming.

When asked how she reacted in real time, Simmons did not 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 told host Amanda Hirsch. “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.” Reportedly, Aoki and Assaf met in St. Barths, a favorite vacation destination for the Simmons family.

Simmons also revealed she knew Assaf “growing up,” but didn’t know him as a dating prospect for her daughter. “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,” she said. “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?” 

Kimora recalled the shock of learning about the relationship “when the world found out,” saying, “But it went from 0 to 100 really quick, and I was like, ‘Aoki, I didn’t even know this was a thing.’” She called the situation “predatorial and kinda crazy,” and Hirsch noted that Aoki “was going through it.” Just four days after People confirmed the pair had been spending time together, sources said they broke up.

“Yeah, it was a lot,” Simmons said. “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. I do think it’s predatorial and kinda crazy.”