Simon Cowell is opening up about how becoming a dad changed his outlook on work.
In a new interview with The Sun, Cowell, 63, sat down for a casual backyard chat about where his career has been and where it is going, and the X factor of his own life — his 8-year-old son Eric.
"If Eric hadn't come along, God knows what would have happened," Cowell said in the interview. "Before Eric, my life was 99 percent work. I was obsessed with it."
Cowell shares his son, who was born in 2014, with fiancée Lauren Silverman. He is named after Cowell's late father, with whom he was very close before his death.
"After I lost my mum and my dad, you kind of think you're never going to feel that love again — that's it. Then you have kids, and, though I never thought I would feel that way, it's beyond your love for your parents," he said. "It almost hurts how much you love them. Then you start thinking, 'When he grows up, what's his dad going to have done?' I think about that a lot."
Before the birth of his son, the America's Got Talent judge said he was "really unhappy."
"Now Eric is around, I don't work through the night anymore. If he hadn't come along, God knows what would have happened. The thought of it — I can't deal with that," he said in the interview, getting emotional.
The TV personality then described his work schedule during the height of his success, saying he would work till 4, 6 and sometimes 8 a.m. regularly.
Noting how he was burned out, miserable and unhappy, Cowell said he was consumed with the ratings battle between U.K. hits The X Factor — his own show — and Strictly Come Dancing, the competition.
When ratings slumped, he said he was "tearing [his] hair out," but that changed when his son started to notice his habits and asked him about them.
"When he was about 2, he finally asked, 'What are you doing in bed at 2 in the afternoon?' And how do you explain, 'These are my hours,' " Cowell said. "I thought, 'Okay, I've got to switch everything around.' "
The American Idol alum noted that it was important to keep up with his son's boundless energy — "They're never tired. Ever," he said — as he detailed that seeing the world through his son's eyes gave him a new perspective on his work.
Sometimes, while making notes on his shows, Cowell said his son will join him. "And I watch him, and if he's just not interested I think, 'That's not in the show' and if he's fixated on something, I think, 'That's definitely in the show.' Honestly, he's the best barometer," he explained.
Known for his gruff and sometimes cruel comments as a judge on his shows, the media mogul said his perspective on constructive criticism has changed too since Eric's birth.
"The idea of him being bullied? I couldn't deal with that," he said, adding that he is "100 percent" more sensitive to treating contestants with care. "With your kids, you just want them to be happy," he explained.
Next up, Cowell will be working on a series of children's books about imaginary animals with Eric.
The father-son duo announced in February 2020 that they had inked a publishing deal with Hachette Children's Group for a seven-book series called Wishfits about these "magical and unusual" creatures, Deadline reported.
"It's been brilliant," Cowell said of the project. "I never thought I would do something like this."
