Simon Cowell, 61-year-old music mogul, revealed he ‘smashed his spine to pieces’ when he broke his back in a cycling accident.
The X Factor boss was rushed to hospital in August last year and underwent a six-hour surgery to try and fix his injuries.
He was involved in an electric bike accident at his Malibu home.
Six months on, Simon has spoken out about the ordeal and said he ‘couldn’t have gotten through it’ without his girlfriend and son.
He said son Eric, 7, branded him “Iron Man” when he first saw his dad with metal rods and screws in his back.
Simon, 61, said he ‘couldn’t have gotten through it’ without his girlfriend (Image: Getty Images)
The celeb says girlfriend Lauren Silverman, 43, was a vital part of his recovery process.
He told ex-girlfriend Terri Seymour on Extra: “‘It could have been a lot worse. When I saw the X-ray, I really nearly could have smashed my spine to pieces, so I literally wouldn’t have been able to walk.”
He added: “I knew I’d broken my back the minute I landed. It was really, really kind of sudden and it hurt.”
He said his son Eric, 7, called him ‘Iron Man’ (Image: ExtraTV)
The man behind hit show The X Factor explained “You’re not supposed to move,” but that wasn’t what was on his mind at the time.
He said: “I was thinking, ‘I’ve got to get back into the house because I can’t lie there’… and made myself kind of get carried into my bedroom, which is right there at the beginning of the house… And I’m lying there and I’m kind of passing out… It was surreal.”
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The X Factor chief said he was concerned over his son’s reaction when he returned from hospital (Image: FilmMagic)
He was rushed into hospital and the BGT judge recalled about the support he received from his partner Lauren and their son.
“In fact, you and Lauren were outside the hospital all night long, I remember,” he said.
Terri explained: “Lauren was amazing, running around after you, nursing you back to health.”
Simon gushed: “She was amazing.
“Both her and Eric, they were like my support. I couldn’t have gotten through it without them, so we got closer.”
Simon recently opened up about the ordeal on Extra (Image: ExtraTV)
He went on to say that returning from hospital wasn’t easy.
He said: “The hardest thing was, and I said this to Lauren when I came out of the hospital… I was so embarrassed about coming home looking about 100 because I couldn’t walk, and I have these metal rods in my back and these screws…
“I said, ‘Lauren, I just don’t know how to explain it to [Eric].’ She obviously said something to him because he came in… and I was lying in bed and he said, ‘Daddy, you’re like Ironman,’ and I thought that was the sweetest thing and it meant a lot.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
