Simon Cowell admits son Eric, 8, saved his life after work ‘obsession’ drove him to depression: ‘God knows what would have happened’-Alicia Adejobi-Entertainment – Metro

Simon Cowell is a changed man after becoming a dad to little Eric (Picture: Rex Features)

Simon Cowell has revealed how becoming a father was life-changing for him after he fell into depression over his intense work rate. 

The former X Factor boss welcomed his first child, son Eric, now eight, with longtime partner Lauren Silverman on Valentine’s Day in 2014. 

In January 2022, the couple confirmed they were engaged and are currently preparing to tie the knot. 

However, before he became a family man, Cowell, 63, was best known as TV’s so-called Mr Mean as a judge on popular reality shows such as The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and even America’s Got Talent overseas. 

Now looking back at his fast-paced lifestyle, which included staying up through the night brainstorming new ideas to take his shows to the next level, Cowell admits he was on a dark path. 

‘Before Eric, my life was 99% work — I was obsessed with it,’ the TV star told The Sun. 

Cowell wonders what his life would have become if he didn’t have Eric to ground him (Picture: Rex Features)

‘I got to that point where everything was about, “If you’re not rating against this then you’re a failure” and I stopped enjoying what I was doing and I was miserable the whole time. 

He added: ‘I was obsessed with beating the competition. I took it to a ridiculous level and I would get really down about that stuff, to the point I was depressed.’ 

The X Factor, regarded as the jewel in Cowell’s crown of TV programmes, came to an end in December 2018 after ratings gradually decreased and interest waned among viewers who would previously make it their weekend must-see viewing. 

The TV mogul has reportedly signed a £90m deal to keep his Got Talent series on-screen (Picture: WireImage)

Cowell now admits that the show should have ended earlier than it did, and that it became ‘an ego-driven thing’ in its final year on-screen. 

Crediting Eric for how his life turned around, he said: ‘I was really unhappy. But now Eric is around, I don’t work through the night anymore. If he hadn’t come along, God knows what would have happened.’ 

That’s not to say that Cowell isn’t still making lucrative business deals as it was recently reported that he had signed a £90million contract to keep his Got Talent franchise on the air. 

It’s also said that an America’s Got Talent: All Stars spin-off is in the works merging together past winners and favourite acts.

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