{"id":209471,"date":"2025-12-06T13:00:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/06\/simon-cowell-opens-up-about-son-depression-boy-bands-excl\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T13:00:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T13:00:47","slug":"simon-cowell-opens-up-about-son-depression-boy-bands-excl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/06\/simon-cowell-opens-up-about-son-depression-boy-bands-excl\/","title":{"rendered":"Simon Cowell Opens Up About Son, Depression, Boy Bands (Excl)"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Simon Cowell<\/strong><\/a>\u2018s new Netflix docuseries, The Next Act<\/em><\/a>, opens with the music mogul getting what his partner, Lauren Silverman<\/strong>, describes as \u201cthe longest haircut ever\u201d inside their sprawling London home. Just when she thinks it\u2019s finally over, an irritated Silverman, 48, walks back into the bathroom and asks Cowell, 66, why he\u2019s getting his \u201cmakeup done too,\u201d to which he deadpans, \u201cTo look handsome.\u201d Stars \u2014 They\u2019re Just Like Us<\/em>, eh?<\/p>\n

Sure, the six-episode show (out Wednesday, December 10) features Cowell jetting from a sun-kissed Barbados villa to his crystal-filled Malibu mansion and a beachfront Miami hotel, but even during luxurious pit stops, he\u2019s as simple as they come. After all, the man\u2019s been wearing his signature black T-shirt and jeans for two decades and counting!<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I go to work, it\u2019s so easy,\u201d he says in Us Weekly<\/em> editor-in-chief Dan Wakeford<\/strong>\u2018s new Just Like Us<\/em><\/a> video series. \u201cI just open up my wardrobe door, everything\u2019s identical, and I don\u2019t have to think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those tees have been through it all with Cowell, who got his start in the music industry in the 1980s before becoming a household name in the early aughts as a judge on American Idol<\/em>, The X Factor<\/em>, America\u2019s Got Talent<\/em> and their British counterparts. He\u2019s launched the careers of Little Mix, Fifth Harmony and, most famously, One Direction, but now he\u2019s on the hunt for a new group in The Next Act<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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\n Simon Cowell<\/span> Kevin Winter\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSince One Direction decided to split up [in 2016], I haven\u2019t signed another successful boy band,\u201d he acknowledges in the series. \u201cI miss it so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>\u2018American Idol\u2018 Judges Through the Years<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tAmerican Idol is a staple in both the reality TV world and the music industry \u2014 but that hasn\u2019t kept its judging table from becoming a revolving door of talent. When the series debuted on Fox in 2002, music manager Randy Jackson, choreographer Paula Abdul and music executive Simon Cowell made up the panel of [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Money and fame aside, Cowell is still just a guy doing his job.<\/p>\n

Check out the biggest revelations from his Just Like Us<\/em> interview below or watch the full episode above!<\/p>\n

Why He\u2019s Not Giving Up on Boy Bands<\/h2>\n

Cowell could\u2019ve retired off One Direction alone, but he\u2019s still passionate about finding a new group of young talent all these years later.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf all the artists I\u2019ve worked with, bands have always been my favorite,\u201d he tells Us<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s a completely different dynamic working with a bunch of people compared to one person. I find it a bit boring working with one person. When we actually, hopefully find the band, you\u2019ll understand why I\u2019ve done this, because the energy that it brings and the fun that it brings when it works, it\u2019s infectious. It\u2019s just brilliant. And I genuinely, genuinely miss doing it. And I thought, \u2018OK, if we\u2019re going to do it, we\u2019re going to have to do it now. Otherwise, I\u2019ll never do it again. And if we are going to do it, why don\u2019t we just show the whole process?’\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Danny,<\/div>

\n Danny, Hendrik, John, Jack G. and Joe in \u201cSimon Cowell: The Next Act\u201d<\/span> Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Returning to His Roots<\/h2>\n

In the TikTok age, where any aspiring artist can blow up overnight from the comfort of their bedroom, Cowell sticks to a tried-and-true method in The Next Act<\/em>: in-person auditions in London, Liverpool and Dublin showcasing contestants\u2019 real-life stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think sometimes with these shows \u2014 and I\u2019ve been guilty of this in the past \u2014 the show becomes more important than the people who come on the show,\u201d he tells Us<\/em>. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t feel that way on this. Without the people who enter, you have no show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Securing a Hit<\/h2>\n

Cowell estimates in The Next Act<\/em> that he\u2019s responsible for \u201cmore No. 1 records than anyone else in the music business\u201d \u2014 some of which he\u2019s proud to say are still in his everyday rotation.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018What Makes You Beautiful\u2019 by One Direction is one of my favorite records I\u2019ve ever put out,\u201d he says. \u201cI was waiting, waiting, waiting for that record to come in. All the songs [I was pitched for the band], they just weren\u2019t there. And then someone said, \u2018A new one\u2019s coming. I think you\u2019re gonna like it.\u2019 I had just landed in Miami, and I asked the guy I was in the car with, \u2018Do you mind if I play the song?\u2019 I put it on, and I\u2019ll never forget it. I\u2019m like, \u2018Christ, that is effing brilliant!\u2019 And also \u2018Bleeding Love\u2019 by Leona<\/strong> [Lewis<\/strong>]. Love that. I never get tired of those two.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Simon<\/div>

\n Simon Cowell<\/span> Kevin Winter\/ImageDirect<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sizing Up the Competition<\/h2>\n

Although he didn\u2019t discover Taylor Swift<\/strong>, Cowell keeps up with the biggest pop star in the world \u2014 Just Like Us<\/em>!<\/p>\n

\u201cShe really knows who her audience is,\u201d he marvels. \u201cShe knows what a great pop record is. Incredibly smart. I have a lot of respect for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Simon Cowell Reacts to Fans Who Think He\u2018s Softened as a Judge<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tSimon Cowell is responding to fans who think he has grown soft as a judge. \u201cI probably have. I would say also that the acts got better, to be fair,\u201d Cowell, 65, exclusively shared with Us Weekly while celebrating the America\u2019s Got Talent season 20 semi-finals with Lavazza on Tuesday, September 16. \u201cI mean, when [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Realizing Money Isn\u2019t Everything<\/h2>\n

When Cowell was in his 20s, he nearly went bankrupt from spending so much money. He ended up moving back in with his parents until he got back on his feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019ve lost your house, your car, everything, and you\u2019re still in debt, it\u2019s a real kind of like, \u2018Whoa.\u2019 Actually, it\u2019s not as bad as you think as long as you\u2019ve got support around you,\u201d he tells Us<\/em>. \u201cI didn\u2019t lose any friends. My mom and dad were amazing. I managed to pay back what I owed. But I don\u2019t regret it because I now appreciate what I\u2019ve got, and I\u2019ve learned a lot of lessons along the way. With a credit card, you\u2019ve got to pay it back! It\u2019s not like you can just buy things. You actually have to pay a bill. But no one teaches you that [once] I left school. Your first credit card arrives, it\u2019s like, \u2018Brilliant, I can buy anything!\u2019 And then you get a bill. I\u2019m like, \u2018S***, I can\u2019t pay the bill.\u201d And so that was kind of a learning curve.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Lauren<\/div>

\n Lauren Silverman, Adam Silverman, Eric Cowell and Simon Cowell<\/span> Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Becoming a Big Softy<\/h2>\n

Cowell became a father in 2014 at the age of 54. His son, Eric, has changed the way the once-brutally honest TV judge<\/a> approaches life. He\u2019s also a stepfather to Silverman\u2019s son Adam from a previous marriage.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the minute I saw Eric\u2019s scan, I was a different person,\u201d Cowell recalls. \u201cI was obsessed, literally obsessed. I still am, by the way. He just changed my life. I know it sounds corny, but it gave me a meaning for what I do. What happened was I started to see kids on stage, and I was thinking, \u2018That could be Eric.\u2019 It definitely changed something inside me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding Love<\/h2>\n

Cowell started dating Silverman in 2012 and proposed<\/a> in 2021. While they aren\u2019t married yet, she appears in The Next Act<\/em> and reveals she\u2019s already signed legal papers to take his last name.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a bit reluctant [to be on camera] in the beginning, and then she got more used to it,\u201d he shares. \u201cThe funny thing about her is that she is identical on the show as she is in real life. When I was watching the show back, I was absolutely cracking up at some of the scenes. We have a very, very close bond. I adore her. We are a very happy family, genuinely. When we decide to [wed], it will be private, but obviously the fact that she talks about changing her name, it\u2019s quite obvious where all this is leading to.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>One Direction\u2018s History With Simon Cowell<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tOne Direction and Simon Cowell have a whole lot of history. The founding members of the boy band \u2014 Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson \u2014 initially auditioned for The X Factor UK in 2010 as solo acts. Instead of being eliminated during boot camp, Cowell and fellow judges Nicole [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Losing a Prot\u00e9g\u00e9 and Friend<\/h2>\n

In 2024, One Direction alum Liam Payne<\/strong> died at age 31<\/a> after falling from his third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The news broke while Cowell was in the midst of filming\u00a0The Next Act<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s difficult to put into words how I felt. It was not far off from how I felt when I lost my mom and dad,\u201d he tells Us<\/em>. \u201cI\u2019ve lost friends before, but Liam hit me hard because I really had a close bond with him. He came on my show when he was very young. I\u2019d seen him a year before he passed, and we\u2019d spent an afternoon together. We just had the best conversation and talked about being dads. He didn\u2019t leave with me going, \u2018I\u2019m worried about him.\u2019 If anything, I thought he looked amazing. He seemed happier in himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Niall<\/div>

\n Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Simon Cowell, Harry Styles and Liam Payne<\/span> Ian Gavan\/Getty Images for Sony Pictures<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Overcoming Depression<\/h2>\n

A 2024 survey by the English charity Mind<\/a> found that 51 percent of the U.K. population believes there\u2019s shame associated with mental health conditions. Cowell, who\u2019s suffered from depression, wants to end that stigma.<\/p>\n

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