This "American Idol" judge doesn't like being a father... he loves it. And Simon Powell's son, Eric, has had a major transformation since arriving into the world on Valentine's Day 2014.
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00This American Idol judge doesn't like being a father. He loves it, and Simon Powell's
00:05son, Eric, has had a major transformation since arriving into the world on Valentine's
00:10Day 2014.
00:13It's no stretch to say Simon Cowell was thrilled to become a father. When his fiancée Lauren
00:17Silverman was still pregnant, Simon shared on BBC Breakfast that he couldn't wait for
00:22the baby to arrive.
00:24Once I got used to it, I did get excited. I think I will be a good dad, so I'm excited
00:28now."
00:29However, when the subject of diaper duty came up, he was far less enthusiastic.
00:33"'I wouldn't do that. 100 percent absolutely not going near that.'"
00:37Simon announced the birth of his son, Eric Cowell, on X, formerly known as Twitter. The
00:42reality TV star shared that his healthy and handsome child was born on February 14, 2014.
00:49Same day, Simon also noted on Twitter that he named his firstborn after his father, who
00:54died in 1999.
00:55Powell's publicist told People,
00:57"...what he is striving for is to build the same relationship with his son over the years.
01:01It's the whole family thing. He got a tremendous amount of comfort from the relationship he
01:06had with his mom and dad. They were very, very close."
01:09Settling down and getting married never seemed to be in the cards for Simon Cowell. Back
01:13in 2008, when he was still dating then-girlfriend Terri Seymour, he told The Mirror,
01:19"...I don't believe in marriage. Certainly not in this business."
01:22After the birth of his son, he apparently had a change of heart. In 2021, Simon proposed
01:27to longtime girlfriend Lauren Silverman, wanting to take the next step with Lauren after spending
01:31the pandemic lockdown as a family. Simon told ET,
01:34"...Family is everything, and that is what I kind of took away from it."
01:38Heading to the altar meant that Simon would officially become a stepfather to Lauren's
01:42firstborn, Adam Silverman. Born in 2006, not much is known about Adam, but he appears
01:48to have a great relationship with Simon. In 2018, he supported him when he received a
01:52star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
01:55Becoming a parent completely changed Simon's life, especially with regards to burning the
01:59midnight oil. As he told The Sun in 2022,
02:02"...Before Eric, my life was 99 percent work. I was obsessed with it."
02:06In the same interview, Simon revealed that he'd grown unhappy with his hectic work schedule.
02:11When Eric arrived, Simon overhauled his priorities. The talent judge learned to balance work-life
02:16and raising a child. He continued,
02:18"...Now Eric is around. I don't work through the night anymore. If he hadn't come along,
02:23God knows what would have happened. The thought of it, I can't deal with that."
02:26On a 2019 episode of Lorraine, Simon noted that fatherhood has given him invaluable perspective.
02:32After saying that he's no longer bothered by the things that used to stress him out,
02:36he said,
02:37"...When you become a dad, something clicks in in you, you know? It's all about them."
02:42If there's one person who has noticed the shift in Simon, it's the winner of the first
02:46season of American Idol. On an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, Kelly Clarkson shared
02:51that she truly believed that becoming a father changed the former Idol judge for the better.
02:55I think the vulnerable little side of you came out when you had a kid.
03:00In 2022, Simon told Extra that he cut back on smoking cigarettes thanks to his son.
03:05"...He is really strict. I have to sneak behind the hedges and I'm having my four puffs, and
03:09I can see him following me around. I said to him the other day, thanks to you, I nearly
03:14quit."
03:15Keeping tabs on his father's smoking habits seemed to work. In 2023, Simon told The Mirror
03:19that his days of lighting up cigarettes are behind him.
03:22"...I'm vaping, so I'm not quite out of the woods, but I don't smoke cigarettes. I have
03:26not had a cigarette in about three or four weeks."
03:29Simon's son also influenced him to stop using Botox. Evidently, there was one instance in
03:34particular where the injectable treatment's results upset Eric and made him unrecognizable
03:39even to his own kid. As the AGT star told The Sun in 2022,
03:43"...Eric wasn't hysterics. Enough was enough. There is no filler in my face at all now."
03:49In 2023, Simon moved his family from the hustle and bustle of upscale London to a much quieter
03:55home in the English countryside. In July, a source told People,
03:58"...Simon moved into the home a few months ago and is really enjoying the freedom of
04:02country life."
04:03The source added that the reality TV veteran was pleased to live a much more anonymous
04:08life.
04:09Moving to a rural area, Simon saw his son in a new light. Speaking to Access Hollywood
04:13about how Eric likes to be outside, he shared,
04:16"...he's kind of doing all the things I did as a kid, you know, where he's playing football
04:20outside, he's climbing trees, he's running."
04:22Simon continued,
04:23"...and that's what we have. We're in the countryside, so he gets to do tons of things
04:27outside. So I'm happy, and he loves it there."
04:30In February 2020, Simon announced on Instagram that he and Eric were publishing a children's
04:35book series, which he called WishFits. He wrote,
04:38"...WishFit is a world where the most unusual animals exist. The WishFits are magical, unusual,
04:43and have evolved in a weird and wonderful way, combining two different species to form
04:47hybrid animals with very distinct characteristics."
04:51The animals were all Eric's idea, but Simon's busy work schedule and a pandemic delayed
04:55the series. Unfortunately for Eric's publishing aspirations, the series still hasn't come
05:00out as of 2024.
05:03Not only does Eric look like his dad, but he might just steal his job. In 2023, Eric
05:08joined his father on the red carpet of America's Got Talent Season 18, where he posed with
05:13the season's winner, Adrian Stoica, and his dog, Hurricane. In fact, Simon Cowell told
05:18Access Hollywood that Eric, a big fan of the show, predicted the border collie would win
05:23the competition.
05:24Eric, my son, was at the show last night, and I said to him this morning, who do you
05:29think's gonna win? He went, Hurricane. I went, oh, seriously.
05:31Oh, he called it.
05:32He really, really called it."
05:33In the same interview, Simon shared that Eric began spending time with him on the Got Talent
05:37set at an early age.
05:38"...Ever since he was a baby, he used to come to the shows with me. And I always thought,
05:43God, what happens if he doesn't like what I do? But he really loves this show. He gets
05:47invested. When we woke up this morning, it was the first thing we were talking about."
05:51Simon seemed to love the idea that Eric would take his place on the judging panel one day.
05:55Over on Instagram, he posted a sweet photo showing him, his son, and another boy at his
05:59AGT judging seat. In April 2024, he captioned the picture,
06:04"'Meet the new judges of Got Talent, 2033.'"
06:08If Eric doesn't see himself on the judging panel of America's Got Talent or Britain's
06:12Got Talent in a few years, fans of the hit competition show may see him as a contestant.
06:17As his dad told ET in 2023, he's set on trying out for the series. He's now decided he's
06:23going to do Britain's Got Talent.
06:25"...I think he wants to be in a rock band. He loves Green Day."
06:28Eric has taken up drumming, and according to Simon, he's a natural.
06:32Even so, Simon's not exactly itching to see his kid on BGT.
06:35"...That's going to be total torture. I mean, of all the things I've ever done, this will
06:39probably be the hardest because he does play drums. He's going to drum and sing. I went,
06:44Oh, God, no."
06:46Just weeks after his ET interview, Simon told People that he believes Eric shouldn't audition
06:50for any of the Got Talent programs. However, it's not because Simon thinks Eric doesn't
06:55have what it takes. It's quite the opposite, in fact.
06:57"...He's a good drummer. I mean, he's in time. He's in rhythm. I keep saying to him, if you're
07:02good, never come on the show."
07:04The longtime reality show judge also noted that if Eric were to compete on Got Talent,
07:08he would not join the youngster on stage.
07:10"...I actually don't have any performing talent whatsoever. I would just stand in the wings."
07:15More than a few A-list celebrities have said they will not be leaving their immense fortunes
07:19to their kids. And yes, a certain American Idol star is also on that list. Simon Cowell
07:24is reportedly worth somewhere around $600 million. But as far as he's concerned, that
07:29massive chunk of change won't be going to his son.
07:32Back in 2013, while Lauren was pregnant with Eric, Simon told Esquire,
07:37"...I'm going to leave my money to somebody. A charity, probably. Kids and dogs. I don't
07:41believe in passing on from one generation to another. Your legacy has to be that hopefully
07:46you gave enough people an opportunity so that they could do well, and you gave them your
07:49time, taught them what you know."
07:51Of course, that's not to say Simon Cowell's son doesn't live a lavish life. Rather, it
07:55just sounds like his dad hopes he develops a strong work ethic and earns enough on his
07:59own so he doesn't have to rely on an inheritance.
08:03And while he might not be getting a huge inheritance, Eric is still living it up. When
08:07celebrating his birthdays, Simon and Lauren Silverman go all out. When Eric turned three,
08:13the famous parents dished out an estimated £10,000 on a dinosaur-themed birthday at
08:18the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in London. Simon reportedly spent £30,000 for a The Greatest
08:24Showman-themed birthday extravaganza for his fifth birthday.
08:28Simon's parenting style has also been relatively lax regarding Eric's education. In a 2019
08:33interview with NBC, the X Factor star admitted,
08:36"...Listen, if I can get him out at 10 to come and work for me, then I would. I was
08:41better off out of school than I was in school, but I didn't have that major stress about
08:45homework because I would just throw it away. I am not saying behave like me, but at the
08:49same time, you have got to have a balance. A healthy, happy kid is more important than
08:54an over-educated, stressed kid."
08:57When Simon became a parent, it unlocked something in him on an emotional level. He told The
09:01Sun in 2022,
09:02"...After I lost my mom and dad, you kind of think you're never going to feel that love
09:06again. That's it. Then you have kids, and thought, I never thought I would feel that
09:10way. It's beyond your love for your parents. It almost hurts how much you love them."
09:15After feeling so much love and joy as Eric's father, Simon has toyed with the idea of expanding
09:20his family again. In April 2023, he shared with The Sun,
09:24Just two days ago, I was thinking, it would be nice to have another."
09:27But Simon clarified that he and Lauren Silverman did not have any plans to add to their family
09:31at that moment. The reality TV veteran also acknowledged to the outlet that he's wondered
09:36if Eric wishes he had a younger sibling. You never know with kids if they're happy being
09:41on their own, or how would he feel if there was another one. No matter what he and Silverman
09:45choose to do down the road, it sounds like Simon will be content no matter what. As he
09:50told The Sun,
09:51I really like being a dad."