America’s Got Talent judge Simon Cowell is engaged to longtime love Lauren Silverman after popping the question on Christmas Eve in Barbados. A rep for the 62-year-old music man confirmed the engagement to E! News, with People adding that the engagement happened during a family vacation, with the couple’s seven-year-old son, Eric, and Silverman’s oldest child from a pervious marriage, Adam, on hand to witness the blessed moment.
The couple first met in 2004 in Barados and news broke in 2013 that they were expecting their first child together while Silverman, 44, was still married to her ex, real estate developer Andrew Silverman; the former Cowell friend and Silverman finalized their divorce in December of that year. Silverman gave birth to Eric, named after Cowell’s father, in February 2014 in New York.
“They are both super happy,” a source told People. “They’ve been together a long time now and adore each other so it’s not a huge surprise to their close friends.”
Back in 2016, Cowell opened up to Billboard about fatherhood, with the legendarily acerbic reality TV personality and music label mogul uncharacteristically showing his softer side while cooing at the toddler that he feared he wouldn’t be able to bond with. “I kept saying to Lauren, ‘I don’t think he likes me,’” Cowell said about his worries that the then-six-month-old baby was not into him. “I wasn’t getting a reaction. Then one day, it clicked.”
That said, in an interview before Eric was born, Cowell promised that he was “100 percent absolutely not going near that” when asked if he would help out with diaper duties. A spokesperson for Cowell could not be reached for comment on the engagement at press time.
