Simon Cowell‘s new Netflix docuseries, The Next Act, opens with the music mogul getting what his partner, Lauren Silverman, describes as “the longest haircut ever” inside their sprawling London home. Just when she thinks it’s finally over, an irritated Silverman, 48, walks back into the bathroom and asks Cowell, 66, why he’s getting his “makeup done too,” to which he deadpans, “To look handsome.” Stars — They’re Just Like Us, eh?
Sure, the six-episode show (out Wednesday, December 10) features Cowell jetting from a sun-kissed Barbados villa to his crystal-filled Malibu mansion and a beachfront Miami hotel, but even during luxurious pit stops, he’s as simple as they come. After all, the man’s been wearing his signature black T-shirt and jeans for two decades and counting!
“When I go to work, it’s so easy,” he says in Us Weekly editor-in-chief Dan Wakeford‘s new Just Like Us video series. “I just open up my wardrobe door, everything’s identical, and I don’t have to think about it.”
Those tees have been through it all with Cowell, who got his start in the music industry in the 1980s before becoming a household name in the early aughts as a judge on American Idol, The X Factor, America’s Got Talent and their British counterparts. He’s launched the careers of Little Mix, Fifth Harmony and, most famously, One Direction, but now he’s on the hunt for a new group in The Next Act.
“Since One Direction decided to split up [in 2016], I haven’t signed another successful boy band,” he acknowledges in the series. “I miss it so much.”
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Money and fame aside, Cowell is still just a guy doing his job.
Check out the biggest revelations from his Just Like Us interview below or watch the full episode above!
Why He’s Not Giving Up on Boy Bands
Cowell could’ve retired off One Direction alone, but he’s still passionate about finding a new group of young talent all these years later.
“Of all the artists I’ve worked with, bands have always been my favorite,” he tells Us. “It’s a completely different dynamic working with a bunch of people compared to one person. I find it a bit boring working with one person. When we actually, hopefully find the band, you’ll understand why I’ve done this, because the energy that it brings and the fun that it brings when it works, it’s infectious. It’s just brilliant. And I genuinely, genuinely miss doing it. And I thought, ‘OK, if we’re going to do it, we’re going to have to do it now. Otherwise, I’ll never do it again. And if we are going to do it, why don’t we just show the whole process?’”
Returning to His Roots
In the TikTok age, where any aspiring artist can blow up overnight from the comfort of their bedroom, Cowell sticks to a tried-and-true method in The Next Act: in-person auditions in London, Liverpool and Dublin showcasing contestants’ real-life stories.
“I think sometimes with these shows — and I’ve been guilty of this in the past — the show becomes more important than the people who come on the show,” he tells Us. “And I don’t feel that way on this. Without the people who enter, you have no show.”
Securing a Hit
Cowell estimates in The Next Act that he’s responsible for “more No. 1 records than anyone else in the music business” — some of which he’s proud to say are still in his everyday rotation.
“‘What Makes You Beautiful’ by One Direction is one of my favorite records I’ve ever put out,” he says. “I was waiting, waiting, waiting for that record to come in. All the songs [I was pitched for the band], they just weren’t there. And then someone said, ‘A new one’s coming. I think you’re gonna like it.’ I had just landed in Miami, and I asked the guy I was in the car with, ‘Do you mind if I play the song?’ I put it on, and I’ll never forget it. I’m like, ‘Christ, that is effing brilliant!’ And also ‘Bleeding Love’ by Leona [Lewis]. Love that. I never get tired of those two.”
Sizing Up the Competition
Although he didn’t discover Taylor Swift, Cowell keeps up with the biggest pop star in the world — Just Like Us!
“She really knows who her audience is,” he marvels. “She knows what a great pop record is. Incredibly smart. I have a lot of respect for her.”
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Realizing Money Isn’t Everything
When Cowell was in his 20s, he nearly went bankrupt from spending so much money. He ended up moving back in with his parents until he got back on his feet.
“When you’ve lost your house, your car, everything, and you’re still in debt, it’s a real kind of like, ‘Whoa.’ Actually, it’s not as bad as you think as long as you’ve got support around you,” he tells Us. “I didn’t lose any friends. My mom and dad were amazing. I managed to pay back what I owed. But I don’t regret it because I now appreciate what I’ve got, and I’ve learned a lot of lessons along the way. With a credit card, you’ve got to pay it back! It’s not like you can just buy things. You actually have to pay a bill. But no one teaches you that [once] I left school. Your first credit card arrives, it’s like, ‘Brilliant, I can buy anything!’ And then you get a bill. I’m like, ‘S***, I can’t pay the bill.” And so that was kind of a learning curve.”
Becoming a Big Softy
Cowell became a father in 2014 at the age of 54. His son, Eric, has changed the way the once-brutally honest TV judge approaches life. He’s also a stepfather to Silverman’s son Adam from a previous marriage.
“From the minute I saw Eric’s scan, I was a different person,” Cowell recalls. “I was obsessed, literally obsessed. I still am, by the way. He just changed my life. I know it sounds corny, but it gave me a meaning for what I do. What happened was I started to see kids on stage, and I was thinking, ‘That could be Eric.’ It definitely changed something inside me.”
Finding Love
Cowell started dating Silverman in 2012 and proposed in 2021. While they aren’t married yet, she appears in The Next Act and reveals she’s already signed legal papers to take his last name.
“She was a bit reluctant [to be on camera] in the beginning, and then she got more used to it,” he shares. “The funny thing about her is that she is identical on the show as she is in real life. When I was watching the show back, I was absolutely cracking up at some of the scenes. We have a very, very close bond. I adore her. We are a very happy family, genuinely. When we decide to [wed], it will be private, but obviously the fact that she talks about changing her name, it’s quite obvious where all this is leading to.”
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Losing a Protégé and Friend
In 2024, One Direction alum Liam Payne died at age 31 after falling from his third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The news broke while Cowell was in the midst of filming The Next Act.
“It’s difficult to put into words how I felt. It was not far off from how I felt when I lost my mom and dad,” he tells Us. “I’ve lost friends before, but Liam hit me hard because I really had a close bond with him. He came on my show when he was very young. I’d seen him a year before he passed, and we’d spent an afternoon together. We just had the best conversation and talked about being dads. He didn’t leave with me going, ‘I’m worried about him.’ If anything, I thought he looked amazing. He seemed happier in himself.”
Overcoming Depression
A 2024 survey by the English charity Mind found that 51 percent of the U.K. population believes there’s shame associated with mental health conditions. Cowell, who’s suffered from depression, wants to end that stigma.
“[Therapy] was very much a Hollywood thing. I didn’t understand any of it,” he says. “Then, after experiencing the loss of my mom after my dad, that was the lowest time of my life because when you lose both parents, it is heartbreaking. I’m not a whiner, but I have, at times, had depression. I’ve definitely needed therapy. There’s no question. And it really got me through some hard times.”
Aging Backwards
Cowell is no stranger to Botox, fillers and other anti-aging treatments, but nips and tucks aren’t his only secret to looking fresh-faced in his 60s.
“Cutting down the booze definitely helps, so what I do is I mix one-third of the lowest alcohol beer I can find with two-thirds of a soft drink like a shandy,” he shares. “I vape, but I feel better not smoking cigarettes. I also take NAD [nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, a supplement beneficial to metabolism]. And then also taking out a lot of the stress in my life, and that includes getting the bad people out. I’m very fortunate, the people who I work with now, finally, I’ve got to a place where they’re just great people. We work well together. We’re very supportive.”
