Simon Cowell has bravely opened up on his battle with depression – admitting that he withdrew from the world after being left ‘petrified’ he’d get sick.
The America’s Got Talent music mogul, 63, has been dealing with a string of health fears over the past three years – including recovering from a nasty e-bike accident which resulted in him needing extensive surgery on his back.
Speaking to The Mirror’s Men In Mind, Cowell said his time in isolation – further spurred on by the Covid lockdowns – made him ultimately seek therapy.
He said: “I’ve suffered from depression over the years, I think we all have. But that was just something I just thought, ‘well, that’s my character trait’. You know? I get down and it’s something that you deal with.”
Calling Covid the ‘catalyst’ for him realising he needed help, he said he was left ‘petrified’ about getting the virus after some of his friends were heavily left severely sick during the height of the pandemic.
“I think it was during that time period when I started to think about things in a different way,” he explained.
“Some very, very good friends of mine, who’ve been having therapy for years, who I just gravitated towards, just for advice, they were the ones I thought, ‘Oh, they’re the smart ones. They’re the balanced ones’, and they’ve been having therapy for a number of years and I thought, maybe I want to be like them.”
He finally took their advice and help and sought out a therapist of his own – and by his admission, it’s proven a game changer in his way of life and well-being.
He said: “I wish I’d done this 10/20 years ago, if I’m being honest with you.”
The past three years, starting around the time of the pandemic, have proven difficult for Cowell, who in August 2020 was in a potentially fatal e-bike accident.
Flying off the motorized vehicle, the star was rushed into five hours of invasive surgery in order to fix his broken back.
The break happened just centimeters away from his spinal cord, which if severed could have left him paralyzed.
He’s also been forced to laugh off claims he’s had a facelift due to his ongoing shift in his appearance – though acknowledges he’s had ‘a bit of Botox’.
Currently he is back on America’s screens alongside Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara and Howie Mandel for the latest season of America’s Got Talent.
Now in its live stages, the star has seen some of the USA’s biggest and more bizarre talent acts perform – including a mother/son duo that set each other on fire, and a 12-year-old magician ventriloquist.
It seems his own son, Eric, nine, is also taking a leaf out of their books, with Cowell admitting the youngster has dreams of becoming a drummer in a rock band.
Earlier this week he confessed to Entertainment Tonight: “He’s now decided he’s going to audition for Britain’s Got Talent… I think he wants to be in a rock band.”
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
The British power mogul admitted Eric is particularly taken with pop-punk band Green Day.
“That’s going to be total torture,”he added.
“I mean, of all the things I’ve ever done, this will probably be the hardest, because he does play drums,” Cowell added.
“[He’s] going to drum and sing! I went, ‘Oh God, no.'”
Source: Read Full Article
