I was born to be a father, says Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell believes he was “born to be a dad” and would like to have more children with his partner Lauren Silverman.
In his first formal interview since becoming a father last month, the X Factor mogul also admitted how scared he was before the birth, confessing he was worried he might prefer his two Yorkshire Terriers, Squiddly and Diddly, to his first-born.
Cowell said he realised his fears were unfounded as soon as his son was born, on Valentine’s Day. He was named Eric, after Cowell’s father — though the 54-year-old admitted he originally planned to call the baby Simon.
In an interview with former flame Terri Seymour on American TV channel Extra, he said: “I actually said to Lauren beforehand, ‘What if I like the dogs more than him?’ and she said, ‘You’re gonna be absolutely fine,’ and then literally within seconds of him being born I got it.”
The family have been enjoying a short break in Miami and were due to travel back to Britain today so Cowell’s mother Julie and brother Tony could meet the baby for the first time.
Asked about his mother and late father, Cowell said: “I think she’s told the whole village ... she’s really excited. I look at him, Eric, and I think of my dad all the time, so it’s a really good thing. Lauren told her [about the name] and she was really touched by it, because we were going to call him Simon but we both thought, you know, this is not a good idea, so we decided on Eric.”
He said he “wouldn’t rule out” having more children, adding: “Well, I’ve got Squiddly and Diddly, and I couldn’t imagine Squiddly or just Diddly ... I had a brother when I was younger, so I kind of think it’s cool to have two or three ... two.”
Cowell flew to New York from London, where he was filming Britain’s Got Talent auditions, to be at Silverman’s side during the birth last month.
He said: “The phone rings at half past five in the morning, ‘I’m about to give birth’ [said Lauren], so we had to find a flight, which we did, and I got there with two hours to spare.”
He said of life since the baby was born: “Lauren’s actually been crying more than Eric, so I’ve had to put one of those pacifiers in her which she likes ... she has to be fed every three hours, otherwise she gets a little bit grumpy, and Eric’s absolutely fine!”
The family boarded a private jet at Opa-locka airport in Miami last night — and it seems they may be planning on staying in the UK for a while.
A dozen crates of Cowell’s favourite beer, Corona Light, were seen being loaded into the plane.
