Simon Cowell , 53, and his pregnant girlfriend Lauren Silverman, 36, have been spotted hand-in-hand on the beach of St. Tropez in the South of France.
According to USA Today, the X Factor judge and the New York socialite had been apart for some time, at least in public. However, the pregnant Lauren Silverman reportedly reached a divorce settlement with her husband, property developer Andrew Silverman, two weeks ago.
On Tuesday, Simon Cowell spoke out to the BBC in London, where he was attending the premiere of One Direction’s documentary This Is Us. Although it was an open secret that he was the father of Silverman’s baby, he addressed the paternity speculation for the first time in public.
“I’m proud to be a dad,” he said. “It’s something I hadn’t thought of before, but now I know I feel good about it.”
Simon Cowell and the Silvermans were close friends for a decade. Then, as the marriage apparently drew to a close, Lauren Silverman and Simon Cowell became involved even though she wasn’t yet separated from Andrew.
As a result, the news of the surprise baby created something of a media firestorm. There was even a court filing which suggested Cowell might have to testify about his relationship with Lauren.
But the Silvermans ultimately settled their divorce without the need to question Simon Cowell.
Will he marry the mother of his child? That’s the $64,000 question. And some people say that the answer might surprise us all.
An unnamed source told People on Thursday:
“Simon still has no plans to live with Lauren permanently, or to get married. But Simon is a softy at heart, and his feelings could definitely change.
“No one ever thought he would be this excited about a surprise baby.”
It will be interesting to see what happens with Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman when baby makes three.
[Simon Cowell photo by s_bukley / Shutterstock.com ]