Twisted love triangle! As exclusively revealed by Us Weekly on July 31, Simon Cowell is expecting a baby with friend Andrew Silverman‘s estranged wife, Lauren Silverman. Though the pregnancy came as a surprise, Cowell and Lauren’s relationship was much more than a one-night stand. In the Aug. 19 issue of Us Weekly (on stands Friday), a source revealed that the pair had been having an affair since 2009.
“Lauren has loved Simon forever,” says a source close to the New York City socialite, mom to 7-year-old son Adam. “And they started having an affair four years ago.” The relationship began as a fling, but the baby — due in February — changed everything. “Simon and Lauren are together,” says a Silverman family source. “They talk 100 times a day.”
Cowell’s kinship with the Silvermans began innocently enough in 2004 when he befriended the newlyweds at Barbados’ Sandy Lane resort. Soon, they were regularly sunning themselves on Cowell’s yacht. Says an insider, “Lauren and her husband would even stay in Simon’s guesthouse in L.A.”
Meanwhile, the Silvermans were unraveling. “The marriage was not made in heaven,” Lauren’s mother, Carole Saland, tells Us. The couple bickered constantly, say sources. Adds a Lauren pal, “Andrew always went on trips without her. She felt he treated her like garbage.” Lauren, 36, turned to Cowell — and before long the two gave in to a mutual attraction. At first, the hookups were sporadic, but by January 2013, the relationship turned serious and Lauren consulted a divorce lawyer.
Andrew, 37, a wealthy co-owner of Panama’s Veneto Hotel & Casino, quietly filed for divorce in mid-July citing adultery. He even named Cowell as a co-respondent in the papers, meaning he could be called to the witness stand.
When asked by a TV critic on Aug. 1 to give his thoughts on impending fatherhood, the X Factor judge said, “I would love to, but I have to respect a lot of people’s feelings . . . I really have to be sensitive.”
For more on Cowell’s four-year affair with Lauren — and how they’re preparing for parenthood — pick up the Aug. 19 issue of Us Weekly, on stands Friday.
