Where Simon Cowell’s ‘harem’ is now – cat fights, psychic bonds and ‘betrayal’

Before becoming a dad, Simon Cowell was most likely to be found sailing the high seas in a luxury yacht surrounded by a bevy of beauties.

The X Factor mogul had it made with exes Sinitta, Jackie St Clair, Terri Seymour and Mezghan Hussainy as his companions on the 196ft Slipstream or at his luxury Barbados mansion.

Dubbed the ‘harem’, the happy gang loved to play board games and have movie nights – but Sinitta was quick to insist things were strictly platonic.

“We’re not all sleeping with him. It’s as bad as calling us his b*****s. The girls are all there with partners or as friends,” she once told the Daily Mail.

Either way, Simon – who turns 61 this week – loved it and was quoted in Tom Bower’s biography Sweet Revenge as saying he loved to play his ladies off against each other.

“I want to be happy, have good people around me. I want to be free and I don’t want to be bored,” he was quoted by The Sun as saying.

“I’m attracted to crazy women. I encourage crazy behaviour and I make them crazy. I’m attracted to certain personalities who are difficult to control, so there are tantrums, tears and fights, which is all part of the drama.

“My life is really odd. Every girl wants to be number one and they’re very territorial. I like the fight because otherwise I’d have a dull group of girlfriends.”

But everything changed following the birth of his son Eric, six, with partner Lauren Silverman – who was once another member of the co-called ‘harem’ – in 2014.

The group trips were out and family holidays were in. “When you become a dad, something clicks in you. It’s all about them,” he told ITV’s Lorraine.

But what happened to the rest of his gal pals once the love boat sank?

Sinitta

The singer dated Simon on and off for 20 years and remained convinced they’d get back together for good – until Eric was born.

Sinitta, 51, told New magazine: “There was always an element of ‘well, it’s never really over.’

“But when Eric was born that was it. I would never come between his family.

“[Lauren] and I were best friends. I’m really happy for them, but it was hard and caused a fallout.”

The ‘fallout’, according to Sinitta, was caused by the fact she felt betrayed by ‘sister’ Lauren and was ‘shocked’ when Simon called her to say Lauren was expecting despite still being married to property developer Andrew Silverman.

“We are very, very good friends. When you’ve been close friends with someone and you’re calling each other sisters and family and confided all of your secrets and feelings over the years to them… Lauren was that person to me,” Sinitta claimed to The Sun.

“It was sad to discover that I wasn’t that person to her. I’ve known her for four or five years. But it’s OK, we have dealt with it. I didn’t cry when I heard and I certainly didn’t cry, ‘It should’ve been me’. That’s a comedy sketch — not real life.”

But despite their woes, Sinitta and Simon remain close and she’s even godmother to Eric while he is godfather to her kids Magdalena and Zac who she adopted with ex-husband Andy Willner.

And she believes she and Simon are so tight that they share a ‘psychic bond’ that alerted him when she secretly contracted coronavirus earlier this year.

“I caught the virus after doing a club gig. Next day I felt as if I’d swallowed a packet of razor blades. I was in bed for about a week. I didn’t tell Simon I was ill but it wasn’t long before he got in touch,” she told the Sunday Mirror.

“When he got through, Simon said, ‘You’ve got it [the virus] haven’t you?’ And I said, ‘How do you know?’

“He said, ‘I knew it. I could just tell because you disappeared. I knew you didn’t want to worry me.’

“He told me, ‘We have this weird connection, I can just tell when something’s wrong’.”

Terri Seymour

Extra TV host Terri dated Simon for six years from 2002 to 2008 before they ended things because in Simon’s words: “She wants a different path in life.”

“We will be the best of mates, but I think in relationships, you have to be totally honest. I have always been and I know Terri knows that,” he told Just Jared at the time.

But unlike some of the other ‘harem’ members, Terri, 48, survived the cull and remains a pivotal part of Simon and Lauren’s life.

She regularly shares Instagram pictures of herself and Lauren enjoying playdates with Eric and her own daughter Coco, five, who she raises in Los Angeles with her model and artist partner, Clark Mallon.

And she has previously opened up about her continuing friendship with Simon.

“We do still speak every day. Actually we’ll often speak to each other five, even 10 times a day. And when Simon is in LA we see each other daily,” she once said.

Jackie St Clair

Former Playboy and Page 3 pin-up Jackie and Simon met on the nightclub scene in the 1980s and remained close friends after the romance ran out.

But there’s no love lost between her and Sinitta, who reportedly refused to be on the boat at the same time as Jackie in 2012.

Dishing on the fallout, Sinitta told the Daily Mail: “We’re never in each other’s company. Simon would prefer it if we could be.”

As far as Simon was concerned, he was staying well out of it.

“Urrrgh! It was a pretty torrid day, absolutely hellish,” he told The Mirror. “What do you think? Am I getting involved with it all? That would be a ‘No!'”

Jackie – who once dated Andrew Ridgeley and Prince – is now married to businessman Carl Michaelson.

Mezhgan Hussainy

It looked like Simon had finally been tamed when he proposed to make-up artist Mezhgan on Valentine’s Day 2010 in the bedroom of his plush pad in Holland Park, London.

He even commissioned a £250,000 six-carat sparkler from Bond Street jewellers Graff for the occasion.

But alas, he called it off just a year later but gifted her a £5million Beverly Hills mansion.

Mezghan, now 47, went on to become the proud mum of twins Preston and Isabella in 2018 with partner Phil Miller.

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