Parties, premieres and luxury holidays had lost their shine for the Britain's Got Talent mogul until son Eric was born.
What did you miss?
Simon Cowell has lived a celebrity lifestyle that many would envy, making the A-list of exclusive parties and premieres, launching careers of the likes of One Direction, and starring in primetime entertainment shows Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor.
But despite his huge success in the UK and the US, and the trappings of his fame which include regularly spending New Year's Eve in Barbados with celebrity pals and being rumoured to be worth £500m, he has confessed that he was bored with life until until he became a father.
Cowell and his partner Lauren Silverman welcomed son Eric in 2014 and in a Father's Day interview with Jeff Brazier for This Morning on Thursday, 12 June, the music boss said becoming a parent was the best thing he had ever done.
What, how and why?
Cowell claimed that he had become bored with his luxurious lifestyle, but had found a new purpose when he became a father in 2014.
Speaking to Brazier about his son Eric, he said: "It gives you a purpose. I enjoyed my life, I enjoyed my work. I was getting to a point where I was feeling bored.
"Once you've become a parent, then it's like everything is for them. I actually really, really enjoy his company. Every night we read together before he goes to bed. He's so easy like Lauren to wind up, I just make stupid stuff up. He's got a good sense of humour, he's a good kid."Brazier asked what fatherhood meant to him and he replied: "Honestly, everything. Out of everything I've ever done in my life, this is the best thing that ever happened to me. The very first time I saw his scan I was literally obsessed."But he admitted that it had taken him a little while to learn what babies are capable of, initially thinking his son didn't like him. "When he was a baby, because they don't really do anything, I was like, why doesn't he like me?" he said. "And Lauren was going, he's a baby, and I didn't really understand that. Then at about a year-and-a-half he started to communicate, that was magic."
Although Cowell is world famous, he revealed he has the same worries as any other parent – what online content Eric could potentially stumble across if he had a phone, and whether he was under too much pressure at school.
Saying that he was "petrified" of Eric accidentally seeing inappropriate content online, he added of his son's homework situation: "I would say to any teacher watching, ban homework. You'll have happier kids and they'll do better."
Proud dad Cowell continued: "I'm reliving my childhood with him. All the things I liked doing as a kid, I'm just doing it all over again. I watch the same movies, we were watching Cars the other night, I get to watch Back To The Future again and love it again. It's made me happier than anything that's ever happened in my life, it's the best thing."
Simon Cowell would tell Eric if he was a bad singer
Cowell made a name for himself judging shows like The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent by giving contestants brutally honest reviews of their auditions.
But it seems he wouldn't sugarcoat the truth even for his own son, as Brazier asked the music manager what he would do if Eric wanted to get into the industry.
Cowell said: "I've thought about this, what if he said I want to be a singer and he couldn't sing? I would be absolutely honest with him. If he couldn't, I would say, you know what, be a drummer. He actually can play the drums well but he's quite shy."
He added that his own parents had instilled the importance of good manners in him and said: "I'm trying to do the same thing with him. Don't make it overcomplicated - find your path, be happy, be respectful to other people."
