“America’s Got Talent” judge Simon Cowell nearly lost his ability to walk again after a terrifying bike accident in 2020. At the time, he underwent a five-hour surgery to repair the injuries on his back.
Now, six years later, the 66-year-old TV personality is scheduled to undergo another back surgery, forcing him to sit out several weeks of the hit NBC show.
Here’s what to know about Cowell’s 2020 bike accident and why he needs another surgery soon.
Inside Simon Cowell’s 2020 Bike Accident
In August 2020, Cowell was testing out a new electric bike at his Malibu home when he fell and broke his back. The former “American Idol” judge was rushed to the hospital, where doctors told him he was “lucky” his injuries weren’t more serious.
Cowell underwent back surgery, which lasted five hours. In an interview with Extra in February 2021, he reflected on the accident and what was going through his mind at the time.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Cowell told the outlet at the time. “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 recalled, “I knew I’d broken my back the minute I landed. It was really, really kind of sudden and it hurt.” Although Cowell knew he wasn’t supposed to move, that wasn’t his thought process at the time.
“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.”
Simon Cowell Says He Was ‘Lucky to Survive’
Following the surgery, Cowell was nervous about returning home from the hospital because he was worried about how his son, Eric, would react. Fortunately, his fiancée, Lauren Silverman, was there to help him out.
“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,” Cowell told Extra.
Cowell admitted that he had initially downplayed the severity of his bike accident, adding that he was “lucky to survive” his back surgery.
“It was a lot worse than people thought. I had a lot of long-term nerve damage as well,” Cowell told OK! magazine in April 2022.
The “America’s Got Talent” judge also revealed that his recovery was a long process. Despite the setback, Cowell hasn’t given up on riding e-bikes.
“I’m still gonna stay on my bike. I’m obsessed with these things,” Cowell told Today in 2023.
Why Is Simon Cowell Undergoing Back Surgery Again?
TMZ reported this week that Cowell is scheduled to have back surgery soon, forcing him to sit out several weeks of the hit NBC show. According to the outlet, the surgery is a “routine procedure” and that there is no indication of a new health crisis.
Meanwhile, a rep for Cowell confirmed to EW that he’ll be taking a break from “AGT” due to “medical matters.”
“Obviously medical matters are private, but it’s routine, and he will be back in a few weeks,” the source said.
