He put a ring on it! Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman are engaged after more than a decade together, Us Weekly can confirm.
The couple was first linked in 2004 after meeting in Barbados. Seventeen years later, the former X-Factor judge, 62, popped the question on Christmas Eve in December 2021, several outlets, including Page Six and E!, reported on Tuesday, January 11.
The duo’s romance had a rocky start as Silverman, 44, was married to Cowell’s friend Andrew Silverman when they first got together. Lauren finalized her divorce from the property mogul in August 2013, which is the same year she and Cowell went public with their relationship.
Six months later, the America’s Got Talent judge welcomed his first child, son Eric, with then-girlfriend Lauren. The baby boy is Lauren’s second son — she shares 16-year-old Adam with her ex-husband.
Despite their unconventional start, Cowell has gushed over his love and their life since becoming parents to Eric. In October 2014, he revealed that while being a dad is great, getting married wasn’t something he was ready for just yet.
“I’m the only iconic bachelor left in the entire world,” he joked during an interview with HELLO! magazine at the time. “Thanks for that, George Clooney!” (The Ocean’s Eleven star, 60, married Amal Clooney earlier that year after being one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors for years.)
The British TV personality said he wanted to keep the title “a while longer,” explaining, “I’ve never said no to marriage, but then again I couldn’t imagine having a kid at one point and now look at me.”
Cowell admitted that he was “always nervous” about what would happen with his partner if he were to have a child but noted that Lauren has made the transition easier. “The fact is, our baby wasn’t planned [and] was actually the best thing for us to have done and we’re very happy now,” he added.
Four years later, Cowell called the socialite his “rock for the past few years,” saying during his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony that she has “put up with everything I put up with.”
The former American Idol judge exclusively told Us in September 2019 that he was happy with his and Lauren’s family, revealing that having another baby was something they weren’t thinking about at the time.
“I think he’s quite happy being the only son right now,” Cowell said of Eric at the time. “But we have a very, very close relationship. We’re like buddies.”