I wasn’t sure that I’d ever be able to walk again after breaking back in three places, reveals Simon Cowell
FOR the past 20 years, he’s been one of the most recognisable men in showbiz — and following a horrific near-fatal E-bike crash he is more thankful than ever to be alive.
With his trademark haircut, signature T-shirt and boot-cut Levis, Simon Cowell has remained steadfastly unchanged — thanks, in part, to industrial strength Botox.
But now, at 62 and looking slim, the music mogul has moved away from the fillers as he adjusts to a new chapter in his life.
He also confides that he considered therapy when depression hit as he began his recovery from the accident in August 2020 and feared he may never walk again.
Yet all is well with soon-to-wed Simon as he ponders his Britain’s Got Talent return, The X Factor, and his changed attitude to the treatment that made him look “like something out a horror film”.
He says: “There was a stage where I might have gone a bit too far. I saw a picture of me from ‘before’ the other day, and didn’t recognise it as me first of all.
“Eric (his son) was in hysterics. Enough was enough. There is no filler in my face at all now. Zero.
“There was a phase where everyone was having their faces pumped full of this and the other.
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“But actually, for me now, a lot of it comes down to healthy eating and drinking tonnes of water."
Now slimmer than ever after losing three stone, Simon looks better than he has in years.
Part of that is surely down to contentment in his private life — he is marrying his girlfriend of 10 years, Lauren Silverman, later this year, and adores his son.
He has also cut his workload, although will return later this month on Britain’s Got Talent.
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But earlier this year The Sun revealed ITV and Simon had axed The X Factor after 17 years.
The show, which gave us Leona Lewis, One Direction, Little Mix, Olly Murs and Alexandra Burke, had seen ratings fall and format was looking increasingly tired.
However, with ITV still unable to find a replacement Saturday night show capable of pulling in five million viewers plus, there’s a chance the series could still return.
So what would he do differently this time around?
The salaries became out of whack. We made a lot of money but it got too crazy.
Simon Cowell on X Factor
He says: “It’s a tricky one but there are hundreds of people who still want to be pop stars. We’d have to go back to basics.
“The other thing we did with the show was to keep tinkering with it, adding new formats.
“When we first started the show it was very simple with unique elements. I’d argue you can’t make a better music show than that.
“I have an expression though — if you’re going to go to a party, have an invitation. You want to feel people are excited at the thought of The X Factor returning.
“I’d have to believe that we’d have great people turning up. If you don’t, you’ve got a problem.
“The mentoring aspect didn’t really happen in the way I’d have liked. And they should be allowed to perform their own material. I’d also probably bring in about ten young kids who want to get into the music business, and ask them to shadow us for the season.
“The one thing I promised myself going forward is that I want to be more of a mentor.
“The only good thing of getting older is you have a lot of experience and it’s not always about the things you did well — it’s also about the things you didn’t.”
Refreshingly, Simon admits he also blundered with the salaries the judges were paid.
Stars such as Cheryl Tweedy, Robbie and Ayda Williams and Dannii Minogue got small fortunes which, he admits, wouldn’t sit well in today’s credit-crunched world.
He said: “The salaries got out of whack. I’d be a hypocrite if I said I hadn’t made a lot of money.
“But it got too crazy. And, going back to The X factor, I’m not even sure artists should be judging other artists. I think it’s in their DNA to want to find a star.”
Simon says he would also be happy to ditch the traditional girls and boys categories, and have non-binary ones. He may also bin the over 25 category so as not to be “age discriminatory”.
Simon, who cites Oprah Winfrey as the greatest influence in his life, also talks freely about his life after his E-bike horror. He has a steel rod in his back as a consequence.
Eric was filming him when he toppled off the two-wheeler and the pair were clearly traumatised.
Simon, who first became a household name in 2001 as a judge on Pop Idol, admits sinking into slight depression during his recovery at home in Malibu, Florida, when he was bed-bound for a month.
“I considered therapy for the first time when I broke my back because I was very, very, very, low,” he says, drawing on one of his menthol cigarettes.
“I felt very depressed because I didn’t know how to explain it to Eric.
“I couldn’t do all the things I wanted to with him. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to walk again, to ever play football with him.
“That was a low point. I was on a lot of painkillers but I got off them really quickly. I didn’t want to go down that road.
“But in the end, I decided against therapy as I had great doctors, Lauren was amazing, and Eric was incredible.
“I’m still wearing a back brace which I have to wear when I go out on my bike, and there are pretty big screws in my back, and that’s for life.
“But I’m here, I’m alive. And I’m grateful.”
Simon now boasts a collection of 15 E-bikes, ranging in price from £5-£20,000.
While Simon almost cancelled himself on his bike, what does he make of actual cancel culture?
He replies: “The music business is a brutal. I’d say to most people ‘Don’t go into it because. The chances of being disappointed are ginormous’.
“Whether you agree or disagree, you’ve got to have people in life with opinions, it’s that simple.
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“Look at Piers (Morgan) — he’s got an opinion, and I love that. We get a report written every time the show goes out and I encourage the writer to put all the negative stuff up as well as the positive.
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“I think people have to learn how to have a sense of humour because whatever business you’re going into you’ll meet unpleasant people. You’ve just got to deal with that.”
- Britain’s Got Talent returns on ITV1 on April 16.
