Why Simon Cowell Thought His Lookalike Son Eric “Hated Him” for 9 Months
The AGT Judge says his son Eric "changed [his] life."
While he may have a keen ability to spot great performers on America's Got Talent, fatherhood took Simon Cowell some time. When his son Eric was first born, he struggled to connect with the baby, and to hear Cowell tell it, it was because of a simple but fundamental misunderstanding.
Simon Cowell's son "changed [his] life"
Appearing on The Jennifer Hudson Show, Cowell reflected on his journey as a dad to son Eric, who was 8 at the time. "The trouble is, he is like me when I was his age," he confessed, adding, "young Simon was very, very, very naughty."
Cowell was overjoyed from the moment his fiancée Lauren told him she was pregnant, but he had the worries every first-time parent goes through. "He changed my life, genuinely. I was late to the party and I thought, am I gonna be a good dad?" he said.
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After Eric arrived in 2014, Cowell explained, "The first nine months I thought, he hates me. Because he wouldn’t talk to me...and Lauren goes, 'No, no, no, they don’t talk 'til they’re about a year and a half.'"
Watch Cowell's chat with Hudson, below. Peep the photo of Eric to see just how much he looks like his famous dad!
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Simon Cowell is a family man
"Before Eric, my life was 99 percent work. I was obsessed with it," Cowell told The Sun in 2023. "Now Eric is around, I don't work through the night anymore. If he hadn't come along, God knows what would have happened." In addition to being a dad to Eric, Cowell is a stepdad to Lauren's older son, Adam. Eric gets his name from Cowell's late father.
"After I lost my parents, I genuinely felt ... I would never feel that kind of love for anyone ever again. I thought that was it ... until I saw the scan of him for the first time,” Cowell revealed during a 2022 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. “From that moment I saw the scan, I was like, 'That is it, I'm besotted.' Now, I just cannot imagine my life without him. He's the most amazing thing that ever happened to me. I adore him."
