In the summer of 2013, there was a rather fun sex/divorce scandal involving Simon Cowell and a married couple, Andrew and Lauren Silverman. The Silvermans were good friends with Simon and they often vacationed together, all three of them, plus Simon’s harem of ex-girlfriends. Then Lauren turned up pregnant, Andrew filed for divorce and named Simon as the other man, and the father of Lauren’s unborn child. It was a crazy mess. Simon threw some money around, Lauren and Andrew’s divorce was finalized somewhat quietly, and Simon and Lauren have been together ever since. They raise their son Eric together, and Lauren has joint custody of her son with Andrew. This week, Lauren and Simon got engaged. I wondered if there was some bonkers backstory to the proposal, and guess what? There is. Some highlights from this insane Page Six story:
The engagement is the last gasp: “Around Christmas I know that she was talking about it, and he was refusing,” a source told The Post. “They had reached a difficult point in the relationship — you might call it a crisis. There was misery. Perhaps she had made it clear that she was not going to stick around unless they got married.”
This is the second engagement, actually: The source said this is actually their second engagement. The first was not long after the birth of their son Eric, now 7 years old. “I know that Simon got her an engagement ring about a year after the pregnancy was announced … but he then put it away in a safe and made it clear that he didn’t want to get married after all,” the source said. “She’s a nice middle-class girl and she always wanted to get married. Her mum said that she trusted Simon to ‘do the right thing’ before Eric was born. Well, she’s been waiting a long time — and so has Lauren.”
Simon proposed for Eric’s sake: A longtime Cowell colleague told The Post that the engagement is also, in a big way, about his much-adored son. “Everything he does now is about Eric and his legacy,” the colleague said. “He wants to give Eric legitimacy.”
Lauren has been “desperate” to become Mrs. Cowell: But Cowell, 62, has made it clear that he’s no fan of matrimony — both because he likes his own space and, sources say, because he hasn’t wanted to put his $500 million fortune at risk in the event of a divorce.
Lauren cut off some of Simon’s harem: Silverman, meanwhile, has reportedly cut off some of Cowell’s former female friends and ex-lovers. She’s become a bit of a gatekeeper, as Cowell doesn’t carry a mobile phone — he finds it helps his mental health — and friends and business colleagues now find that, if they want to get hold of Cowell, the fastest way is through Lauren. One Cowell business source said that he feels it is a bit of a “power play” on Cowell’s part — but it does make Silverman indispensable. (She reportedly also sometimes carries his cigarettes at parties, as a way of making sure they continually check in with each other.)
Semi-detached: Silverman typically spends a week with him in London or at their house in Malibu, Calif., and then flies to New York to spend a week with son Adam, as part of her custody agreement with her ex. “It’s already a funny, slightly semi-detached dynamic,” said one Cowell pal. Others, though, deny this.
Simon changed after he broke his back in 2020: “He is someone looking for a new purpose, and perhaps he has decided that the time has come to grow up,” the friend told The Post. “There is a sense of him turning over a new page. I hear that he has been negotiating deals to come back as a music producer, as I think he’s coming to accept that his days of TV appearances are … coming to an end.”
Yeah, it wouldn’t surprise me if the proposal was an answer to Lauren giving him a firm ultimatum. And what kind of jackass gives a woman a ring and then makes her put it in a safe? The thing is, Simon IS known to be generous with current and former lovers. He’s bought houses and apartments for exes, he pays for them to travel with him and go on vacation with them, and many of his exes still enjoy being with him and being part of his harem, although it’s been many years since he’s vacationed with all of his exes in tow. But my point is that he treats women well, he just doesn’t want to get married. And Lauren knew that going into it too, for goodness sake.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
Why do women do that… force someone to “do the right thing” to “save the relationship”..
Their relationship seems suuuuuper healthy.
🤣🤣 Right?
He doesn’t treat women well. He is just willing to spend money. Every call girl has a nice client or two.
This^^^^^
Exactly. He is horrible to women. You give someone an engagement ring and put it away. the power imbalance in that relationship is glaring.
Thank you @Me, for pointing out that he does not treat women well, really, and @RoyalBlue for pointing out the power imbalance. I always side eye these men who never seem to date women in the same tax bracket they are and of course, the women are always young and vulnerable (and probably wanting to get in the business). It says everything about how they want to control the relationship, use money to entice and then be able to dump when necessary. I dated so many of these men in LA and they are so gross and SO cliche.
if the guy (or gal) doesn’t want to marry you, take a HINT. There’s no magical reason that gets in the way of true love other than he/she just doesn’t want to marry you and you’re not their “true love”.
This is not the same as saying “hey I really want to get married, but I know that’s not your thing. Maybe we need to end it because we don’t want the same things in life and I want to be with someone who wants the same thing.” That’s a normal discussion as long as you’re not trying to push or guilt trip them when they clearly do not want it.
There’s always one who thinks their different.
Chile, y’all only lasted this long is because of Eric.
Cut your losses, negotiate a settlement with Simon and call it a day.
He’s 62 had a catastrophic accident he probably wants someone there as he ages. He’s getting married to not die alone that’s all.
Agreed
Exactly. He’ll still do whatever he wants but they’ll be married, and I guess that’s enough for her.
Biggest surprise here is that he doesn’t carry a cellphone, that’s hilarious. Seems like she acts as his personal assistant and the mention of his recent back injury…I’m guessing she put in quite a lot of labor there too. Maybe they love eachother, but it sounds like WORK for Lauren. I’d threaten to quit too
She definitely wanted to make sure she had some security after putting in that hard work and probably overseeing his recuperation. (Let’s be real she wasn’t doing the actual leg work but supervising the care staff they had coming in.)
However marriage isn’t always it tho – she could have negotiated some sort of settlement or separation agreement. If he’s as generous as everyone claims then it should have been a big deal to do and it would be fine. Especially since she has a child with him.
Yeah. My ex and I were at this point. We ended up getting married. When we were in couples counseling a decade later, it was entirely consumed by his bitterness at having been “forced” to marry me. This generally doesn’t end well. It only delays the breakup.
Yeah, sometimes it’s a useful wake up call for someone who is being an immature dope. But usually someone who says they don’t want to be married should be taken at their word … and left if their partner really wants to get married someday.
(Though frankly any person who says they were “forced” into marriage in these situations is a jerk. They had a choice to NOT marry; they just preferred to not experience the consequences of that choice so they agreed to marry.)
She’s got 2 kids in 2 different countries, a betrayed ex-husband on one side and a vain, self-centered older smoker on the other. She has to fly back and forth all the time to fulfill her obligations as a parent. Hope holding Simon’s cigarettes and phone makes it all worthwhile.
I thought she shared physical custody in LA of the first child even though ex was pissed initially. Simon cheats when shes out of town ..Phone thing is a joke.
I’m stuck on “a nice middle class girl and she always wanted to be married.” Well, she was married, then decided to have an affair and get pregnant by another man and then get a divorce. But maybe they mean she wants to be married again, and again.
+1
LOL right? But she’s NICE! Please.
Simon had a MUCH bigger wallet. She wanted to trade up, as she saw it. This IS a woman who got pregnant on purpose, make no doubt. I’d bet everything she thought by giving him a child (which no other GF had done), he’d *want to* marry her “for the sake of the child”.
I AM surprised she stuck around after he took the first ring back though.
Well, where would she go? She’s a gold digger and at her age she probably wouldn’t catch a bigger fish than Simon. Her ex won’t take her back so she’s stuck. And it IS a job. She’s working for the current comfortable life and the payout at the end. It’s no love story.
Trade up from her ex TO Simon. The ex was rich, but not in the same stratosphere as Simon. Akin this to Lauren Sanchez leaving her millionaire husband for Bezos (sans the pregnancy).
duplicated
duplicated
Thx so much…..indeed, I see some comments above saying something about him! She was married and cheated on her ex with this dude! so please, she knew whom he was and is no innocent woman here!
By the way, what’s her job? what does she do all day long?
She the ex and Simon were all *friends*. They hung out together socially. He screwed *his friend’s*s wife. Bareback. THAT is the kind of person this man is (and the kind of woman she is).
Giving a man an ultimatum allwwaayyys works, right? I mean, look at how well Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans worked out…
She holds on to his phone and gate keeps his “harem”?! Christ that sounds exhausting. Why would anyone do this to themselves?
$$$$
Money?
Meh if I was her I would walk, not beg to be married. At this point he wants a nursemaid now that he is getting too old to mess around like he used to. Wasn’t he also engaged to Terri Seymour and then Meghan Huzzainy right before he split from them and bought them (STFU) mansions? So just cut straight to the (STFU) mansion Lauren and be near your other son full-time with Eric and be happy.
Exactly he’ll get engaged again because he is a real lord of the rings but he ain’t marrying anybody! Also Alice Evans gave her longtime BF an ultimatum and now they are going through a humdinger of a divorce. Getting married ought to be a mutual desire not the result of an ultimatum.
My fav part is the source calling her a “nice middle-class girl” that was trusting Simon to “do the right thing”. Meanwhile, their relationship started out as an affair. No judgment, but please don’t pretend you’re something that you’re not. Also, I don’t think he is an a-hole for buying a ring and then not giving it to her. Sounds like he got it in response to the child, out of obligation, but probably told her that he hadn’t changed his mind and didn’t really want marriage. Maybe she was more understanding back then. I just feel like he has been very consistent about not wanting marriage. I don’t think he changed his mind. She absolutely gave him an ultimatum.
Oh Lauren this won’t end well. When a man shows you who he is believe him. This Page Six story reeks of Simon already portraying you as a desperate woman looking for a ring by any means possible. I believe his son is the sole reason for this decision because Simon knows she’s not going anywhere.
He just always comes off like a smug prick to me. But if she wants to carry his phone and cigarettes around like his valet, then girl do you.
The cigarettes thing is off a little to me.
He can ask anyone at a event if he can bum one. Why look through a crowd for Lauren.
It was almost added to make her seem more important than she really is to him but it just makes her look like an employee and not the mother of his only child.
He is terminally ill and stage managing his illness and getting things all sorted. Just trust me on this. I imagine lung cancer that has metastasized. Never a fan of the man but am sorry if I am correct. The IDEA you’d break your back and be back on a jet ski is preposterous. He has looked terribly poorly. He was pictured on oxygen in the back of a limo. He has cancelled all work and taken huge steps back. Finally, the man that would never marry is marrying and I predict quietly and in haste. Just my 10 penneth based on the events of the last 2 years.
I wondered if it was an illness, the fact that he’s marrying and cutting his company in half. I thought back to him falling down the stairs that time, which was really concerning. I don’t understand your comment about being back on a jet ski after breaking his back. But, anyway, I hope I’m wrong and instead he’s just hit that age where he knows stress is bad for his health and family, so is cutting back, and that marrying Lauren is just a formality for them, as they’ve been together a long time.
Lauren got rid of his harem within two years, so something changed with this relationship. He certainly didn’t change with his other relationships. Although, he is still good friends with Teri, and she and Lauren have become friends too. Their kids are close in age.
That’s interesting, and you could certainly be right.
It is a real stretch to say he is terminally ill. He broke his back. Back injuries will follow people for the rest of their lives. He might be having a lot of problems with his back, but I don’t think he is on death’s door.
He treats women well? Because he buys them houses and vacations? And he stays ‘friends’ with all his ex-girlfriends? Red flags ALL over the place.
It’s very strange to me, the way these people live. Simon Cowell has a harem? He buys his ladies mansions? Is he accepting applications for his harem? Just kidding.
Hey, I could use a mansion. Shoot, even a regular ol’ house would do nicely.
Real talk, if he set up a trust to pay the property taxes and upkeep on the property, I might consider it. 😉
“do the right thing and marry her”!
What does that even mean? Lol! Isn’t that kind of moot given the adulterous affair with your friend’s wife?
I don’t believe in marriage at the best of times, but people who think marriage fixes mistakes and bad personality traits are outright delusional and are setting themselves up for deep disappointment.
As a former family lawyer, I can tell you from experience that ultimatums never end well. They usually end up in the office of one of my fellow lawyers. Getting married because the bride is pregnant is also a red flag as is getting married on Valentine’s Day (I don’t know why, it just is). I once met a client who got married on VD when she was pregnant. Cursed. Maybe there are couples that do both of these things and have long term successful marriages but of course I never met them.
Also, SC was always clear what kind of man he was – never settled down, had lots of contact with his exes, was a bit of an ass at least in public. Why does she expect him to change now? It’s not like he lied and said he was the marrying kind. Let the man be.
As a former family lawyer, I can tell you from experience that ultimatums never end well. They usually end up in the office of one of my fellow lawyers. Getting married because the bride is pregnant is also a red flag as is getting married on Valentine’s Day (I don’t know why, it just is). I once met a client who got married on VD when she was pregnant. Cursed. Maybe there are couples that do both of these things and have long term successful marriages but of course I never met them.
Call me a cynic but I never thought this was anything but an employee situation which kept the “Simon is gay” chatter down. Also it seems Simon is losing his empire bit by glorious bit and this appears to be yet another PR campaign trying to humanize this evil man. I hope Rebecca Ferguson keeps up the good work exposing him and one day I hope to see all members of One Direction bring this man down! NDAs are a horrible thing.