Simon Cowell getting married ‘because he’s tired of playing the field’

The Shooting Star Ball - London
1/10
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Speaking from the grounds of their Malibu mansion, the music mogul told the newspaper: “I’ve kind of felt myself engaged for a long time, if I’m really being honest with you.

“Lockdown and Covid was probably make or break for many relationships.

“We were in the same house for over a year and I thought, ‘Well, actually, we get on really, really well’.

“And for Eric, as he gets older, he will be asked more and more about his parents, and I thought it was the right thing to do for him.

“I also just couldn’t see myself ever dating anyone again. The idea of going out on a first date now is too weird.

RACING-ENG-EPSOM
AFP via Getty Images

“My mum and dad had an amazing marriage and I used to call them best friends, and I think that’s a big part of it.

“You’ve gotta like each other, not just love each other. We like the same things, we laugh a lot, we always have stuff to say to each other.

“Look, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. So for all those different reasons, it just felt like the right thing to do.”

Britain’s Got Talent is returning to TV screens in April after almost two years.

Cowell, who created the show, missed some of the auditions in February due to testing positive for coronavirus.

This came not long after he took a tumble over his electric bike’s handlebars, while not wearing a helmet, during a ride near his home in west London.

The ITV show typically airs from around April until July, with the semi-final and final stages broadcast live.

Difficulties in filming amid the pandemic were compounded because acts travel from all over the UK and sometimes abroad to take part in the show.

The last series in 2020, saw 2009 winners Diversity perform a Black Lives Matter-inspired routine in which a man in a police uniform knelt on Ashley Banjo, echoing the killing of unarmed black man George Floyd.

The routine, which sparked more than 24,000 complaints to Ofcom, won the must-see moment at the 2021 TV Bafta Awards, which is voted for by the public.

Cowell was also replaced by Banjo on the judging panel for the final and semi-finals of the last series as he was recovering from a back injury.

Britain’s Got Talent launches on April 16 at 8pm and continues on April 17 at 7.35pm on ITV and ITV Hub.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Sign up you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy notice .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in