Simon Cowell Says He Nearly Smashed ‘Spine to Pieces' in First Interview About Broken Back

Simon Cowell is opening up to “Extra’s” Terri Seymour about breaking his back, ahead of his return to “America’s Got Talent.”

This marks his first one-on-one interview about the electric bike accident, which took place at his Malibu home six months ago.

He revealed, “It could have been a lot worse. When I saw the X-ray, I really nearly could have smashed my spine to pieces, so I literally wouldn’t have been able to walk.”

He recalled “I knew I’d broken my back the minute I landed,” saying, “it was really, really kind of sudden and it hurt.”

Simon explained, “You’re not supposed to move,” but that wasn’t his thought process at the time.

“I was thinking, ‘I’ve got to get back into the house because I can’t lie there’… and made myself kind of get carried into my bedroom, which is right there at the beginning of the house, and I’m lying there and I’m kind of passing out… It was surreal.”

He noted, “In fact, you and Lauren [Silverman] were outside the hospital all night long, I remember.”

Terri told him, “Lauren was amazing, running around after you, nursing you back to health.” Simon gushed, “She was amazing. Both her and Eric, they were like my support. I couldn’t have gotten through it without them, so we got closer.”

His return home from the hospital wasn’t easy. “The hardest thing was, and I said this to Lauren when I came out of the hospital… I was so embarrassed about coming home looking about 100 because I couldn’t walk, and I have these metal rods in my back and these screws… I said, ‘Lauren, I just don’t know how to explain it to [Eric].’ She obviously said something to him because he came in… and I was lying in bed and he said, ‘Daddy, you’re like Ironman,’ and I thought that was the sweetest thing and it meant a lot.”

The toughest part of recovery for him? “The helplessness,” he said. “I’ve never been in this situation in my life where you literally can’t move. The pain was off the charts… But you’ve got to stay positive… I made a promise to myself I’d be fitter than I was before I had the accident. Sure enough, that’s what happened.”

Now Cowell is back to work, and he admits he’s proud the show carried on without him. “They were almost too good. I was watching the show thinking, ‘Can you not be great?’ and they were great.”

Smiling, he added, “What I did realize, there were no red buzzers throughout the live shows… None of them would use them."

Terri commented, "So that will change this season. The buzzers will get put to good use.”

He hinted, "They will get used a bit more, I would probably guess."