Simon Cowell would rather have had bike crash than COVID

7 March 2021

Simon Cowell would rather have broken his back than caught coronavirus.

Simon Cowell

The music mogul is recovering after damaging his spine when he fell off an electric bike last summer, but despite coming close to paralysis, the 61-year-old star is thankful the results of his “terrible” accident had a clear path to recovery, whereas things surrounding the virus are so “unpredictable”.

Reflecting on a walk with his pal, Piers Morgan wrote in his Mail On Sunday Event magazine column: “We spoke about his accident. ‘I knew immediately I was in serious trouble,’ he said. ‘Never felt pain like it.’

“Doctors told him he was half an inch away from his spinal cord being fractured and leaving him paralysed. ‘It was terrible, but at least I quickly knew exactly what I was dealing with and would need to do in terms of rehab etc. I’d rather have gone through this than had COVID, which seems so unpredictable. A great friend of mine was in a coma for several weeks with the virus and we thought we’d lose him. That was incredibly scary. I knew I wasn’t going to die, though I did worry I may never walk again.’ “

'America's Got Talent' judge Simon – who famously quit smoking and overhauled his eating habits last year – also stunned his friend by revealing he goes on two-hour walks every day and has found his strolls “life-changing”.

Piers - who previously appeared on the judging panel of 'Britain's Got Talent' with Simon - wrote: “‘I go for two-hour walks most days,’ he suddenly announced. ‘Two hours?! I exclaimed.

“I broke my ankle last summer, and it’s still not fully recovered, so this would be quite an arduous physical test for me. Not that I dared admit this, obviously.

“ ‘Yes. They’ve been genuinely life-changing. I walk with friends, or work colleagues, and get to chat one-on-one with them in a way we would never normally do. I’ve loved it, and I’ve also got fitter than I’ve ever been in my life.’ “

Despite feeling apprehensive about the duration of their walk, the ‘Good Morning Britain’ host admitted it was some of the best time he’d ever spent with his friend.

He said: “Our chat was surprisingly profound. We talked about friendship, family, work, loyalty ... and disloyalty; about people we’ve eliminated from our lives, for a variety of reasons, and people we now value even more.”