To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser that supports HTML5video Simon Cowell struggled to hold back tears as he reflected on the devastation of losing both his parents. The Britain’s Got Talent star and music mogul – who has announced plans to find the next big boy band – lost his dad Eric in 1999, while his mum Julie died 16 years later in 2015, and he has opened up on going through the grief while believing they’re still with him. ‘Having gone through – which was, now question, losing both my parents was the hardest thing that ever happened to me,’ he said.
‘I can sit here honestly – everyone says, when you lose them, in time it’ll get better. You think, “no it won’t”. The truth is, it does, as long as you believe, and you have to believe that their presence is still there with you.
‘And erm, oh gosh...
you have to give me a minute.’ He started to tear up during an emotional and candid interview with Steven Bartlett on The Diary of a CEO podcast, and he later recalled being in a downward spiral before his son Eric, named in tribute to his late dad, was born in 2014. Simon’s dad Eric died in 1999, before he truly rose to fame, although he did get to see him become a success in the music world.
His mother died in 2015 following a battle with dementia, with the family announcing at the time: ‘Today our beloved mum Julie passed away. Anyone who had met her would know what a truly special and kind lad.
