It was never going to be an easy thing for Simon Cowell to talk about, and his emotions took over as he spoke about nine months of hell watching his mother die.
Speaking openly for the first time on the death of his mother he broke down in tears.
Talking exclusively to Dan Wootton from the Sun on Sunday he said “She’d been ill for a very long time. It really happened last year and it was a tough, tough period.“
"But I didn’t want to burden anyone else with my problem. That’s why I never talked about it."
“In a way, that was the hardest part because it was always on your mind. But look, I experienced it with my dad and the only thing I can say is that I have incredible memories.”
Julie died two days before filming started for X Factor, Simon only delayed the auditions for two days.
He recalled: “It sounds corny but it’s exactly what she would have wanted me to do as she loved what I did. When it came to work, she would say, ‘Get back and do what you enjoy’.
”He thinks being back at work “was a good distraction”, adding: “Unfortunately at the end of the day we all have to go through stuff like this.
“Whenever it was going to happen it was going to be difficult because I’m always working.”
Simon speaks about the incredible support he has received from the public and those close to him and how his son Eric has helped him get through it
Read Simon's FULL interview in the SUN on SUNDAY
Simon also spoke about Louis Tomlinson becoming a father “I said to him, ‘You man up. You’re fortunate because you’re in a position to be able to look after the baby and not worry too much about that."
’“But I also told him, ‘I’ve received bad calls in my life but this is not one of them. This is your business but I’m here for you’.”
Simon confirmed Zayn is no longer with his record label Syco, although stays within the Sony stable.
“Well, because it was his decision to leave the group and we hadn’t asked him to do it, I felt my main responsibility was to the band. They didn’t ask for it to happen either and I did sign One Direction as a group".
“But luckily within Sony there are a lot of labels who are really good. I had a feeling there was one particular label who would love to have him and they did.
“It enables them to treat him as a priority and us to carry on with what we’re doing with the boys.
Simon will concentrate entirely on One Direction, also revealing they are to take a break after their next album.
Read the FULL interview in the SUN on SUNDAY
