Simon Cowell Has Almost Quit Smoking Thanks To His 'Strict' 8-Year-Old Son
The 'America’s Got Talent' judge can barely sneak a cigarette without getting caught by his son Eric.
Simon Cowell has been trying to quit smoking for years — and now his eight-year-old son Eric is helping him kick the habit.
In a new interview with Extra, the Got Talent judge opened up about his struggle to give up cigarettes, as well as how his son is helping him along the path to “cutting down.”
“He is really strict,” Cowell shared of his son, whom he shares with fiancée Lauren Silverman. “If he catches me, it’s like being back in school. He’s the teacher. I have to sneak behind the hedges and I’m having my four puffs and I can see him following me around, but I said to him the other day, ‘Thanks to you, I’ve nearly quit.’”
Eric’s godmother, who also happens to be British pop star Sinitta, echoed that the kid is policing his dad when it comes to the unhealthy habit.
“He follows him around, with the smoking thing, he only allows Simon to have one puff of a cigarette,” she told Talent Recap. “He always says ‘how many puffs, how many puffs’, Eric’s like a little cigarette police and keeps him on his toes. It’s very sweet,” Sinitta shared.
Cowell has been trying to stop smoking for years. His initial attempts came all the way back in 2013, after he was seen smoking around his pregnant girlfriend. And while he said his house was a smoke-free zone while the baby was around, he has continued to smoke throughout the years.
He paid a 100-pound fine every time he smoked on set at The X Factor in 2015, tallying a huge amount of money — but that wasn’t enough to stop him. Maybe his kid’s policing will be more effective.
Is it ideal or right to put the responsibility of a parent quitting a bad habit on a little kid? Well, that’s definitely a different question.
