Simon Cowell has spoken out about the freak accident he was involved in at his home last year, which left him in need of major surgery.
Over the summer, the Britain’s Got Talent judge broke his back after falling from an electric bike he was testing out in the courtyard of his house in Malibu.
Six months on, Simon has now given his first interview about the incident, revealing he came close to “smashed my spine to pieces”.
“I knew I’d broken my back the minute I landed,” he told Extra. “It was really, really kind of sudden and it hurt.”
However, as serious as his injuries were, he has admitted that things “could have been a lot worse”.
“When I saw the X-ray, I really nearly could have smashed my spine to pieces,” he added. “So I literally wouldn’t have been able to walk.”
After undergoing a six-hour operation, Simon required to rest at home for a prolonged period, leaving him unable to fulfill his usual TV commitments in the latter half of last year.
Pop singer Kelly Clarkson and SNL star Kenan Thompson filled in as guest judges on America’s Got Talent in place of Simon, while Diversity troupe leader Ashley Banjo temporarily joined the Britain’s Got Talent final for last year’s studio shows.
During that period, Simon says his “pain was off the charts”, but was happy to spend more time at home with his partner, Lauren Silverman, and his six-year-old son Eric.
“Both [Lauren] and Eric, they were like my support,” the TV mogul explained. “I couldn’t have gotten through it without them, so we got closer.”
Simon is expected to be absent from UK screens for the most of this year, with no series of The X Factor planned for the second year running, while Britain’s Got Talent has also been put on pause due to the pandemic.
Watch Simon’s full interview on Extra here.