Simon Cowell is reportedly expecting a baby with married New York socialite Lauren Silverman.
According to MailOnline, a friend of Simon Cowell said that Lauren Silverman, who is technically still married to real estate mogul Andrew Silverman, a close friend of Cowell’s, had revealed that she wants to marry the star just a few weeks ago.
Lauren Silverman and real estate mogul Andrew have been long friends with Simon Cowell and have enjoyed holidays with him for the past few years.
But it wasn’t until Lauren and Andrew Silverman ended their relationship that her friendship with Simon Cowell turned into romance, around a year ago.
A friend of Lauren Silverman’s said: “Lauren loves Simon, she says that she wants to marry him. And with the baby, she’s going the right way about it! But I think this could be really good for Simon.”
Another friend confirmed the baby news and said “yes, all true”.
Lauren Silverman, 36, is said to be “around 10 weeks along” in the pregnancy, according to Us Weekly magazine.
However, Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman’s situation is made more complicated by the fact that she is still technically married to Andrew.
The source told Usmagazine.com: “Lauren and Andrew have been unhappy in their marriage for some time, and their divorce has been in the works for a while. As their marriage deteriorated, she and Simon became close.”
Simon Cowell, 53, and Lauren Silverman have been seeing each for at least a year, according to friends, and were even seen viewing houses together in Los Angeles earlier this year.
In January, Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman were even seen lounging together on the deck of the yacht alongside Cowell’s ex-fiancée Mezhgan Hussainy and Andrew.
Their close friend, fashion designer Rachel Roy, posted a picture of the couple cuddling up together while on holiday with them at New Year. While on board a luxury yacht, she thanked both her ‘hosts’ for inviting her on the trip.
Simon Cowell made no reference to impending fatherhood when he opened up to Chelsea Handler during an interview on her talk show on Tuesday night, sticking to topics including One Direction and his recent health kick.
It remains to be seen just how the news that he is to be a father will go down with Simon Cowell, who has never made a secret of the fact that he doesn’t believe he is the right material to become a parent.
In an interview in 2009, Simon Cowell said: “God, no. I couldn’t have children. If I had them here drawing on the walls I’d go nuts.
“With kids, you’ve got a routine you can’t escape from. You’ve got to be up at a certain time. Got to listen. When all you want to do is sit in a corner thinking.”
However, in a more recent interview in April this year, Simon Cowell appeared to have somewhat changed his mind, saying: “I haven’t ruled it out. If I knew I could be – how do I put this delicately – faithful, I would.
“I do like kids, I’m just not sure I’d be any good for the first six months. I don’t think I’d adopt because I’d rather have my own. I’d have to say I’d like a little girl.”
Simon Cowell’s relationship history includes romances with Sinitta, Terri Seymour and Alicia Douvall.
He is believed to have been engaged twice, once to Page Three model Louise Payne back in 1995, and more recently to make-up artist Mezhgan Hussainy.
Simon Cowell and Mezhgan Hussainy, who met when she was employed as a make-up artist on American Idol back in 2003, broke off their engagement last year.
Their split was later confirmed by mutual friend Zetta Graff, who said that Mezhgan Hussainy had become “too needy” for the mogul.
Simon Cowell later described the engagement as his “big mistake”, adding: “I’m attracted to crazy women. I encourage crazy behavior and I make them crazy.
“I’m attracted to certain personalities who are difficult to control. So there are tantrums, tears and fights, which is all part of the drama. My life is really odd.
“Every girl wants to be number one and they’re very territorial. I like the fight, because otherwise I’d have a dull group of girlfriends.”
Simon Cowell’s most recent relationship was with fellow X Factor USA judge Carmen Electra, with whom he was seen on several dates in 2012.
However, in February this year, Simon Cowell confirmed he was single, saying: “We spent time together and she is so much fun. But I’d like to find a girlfriend.”
But while Simon Cowell has spoken in recent months about his desire to settle down, he then called relationships “boring” in an interview last month.