Music mogul and television personality Simon Cowell is gearing up for his return on America’s Got Talent and, as such, whether he likes it or not, the topic of his back-breaking fall from an e-bike last year is coming up.
Available at the bottom of the page is Cowell’s first interview since the accident and the first time he publicly addresses his injury. As luck would have it, the interview is done by Terri Seymour, one of his ex-girlfriends and a very close friend, so it’s mostly softball questions.
The incident happened in August last year, in the driveway of Cowell’s Malibu home. He had just taken delivery of a new trail bike (technically an “e-bike” due to loopholes in the legislation, but not a road-legal one). Without reading the owner’s manual, Cowell hopped on it and hit torque, which instantly sent him on his back, breaking three of his vertebrae in the process.
That e-bike was a Swind EB-01, marketed as the most powerful on the market thanks to the impressive 15-kW (20-hp) motor. More recent reports claimed that Cowell was weighing his legal options, looking to sue maker Swindon Powertrain because they should have provided him with special training before selling him the two-wheeler. Swindon denied responsibility, as was to be expected.
Either because of pending litigation or because he doesn’t want to go into specifics for personal reasons, Cowell doesn’t say a word about the e-bike. He does talk about his recovery and how the most difficult part was the feeling of helplessness, how he needed help to walk and couldn’t have made a full recovery without help from partner Lauren. He also says he knew right away that he’d broken his back because of the pain but still had people move him in the house so his family wouldn’t have to look at him lying there.
“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 says.
Silver linings and all that.
Word in the British media has it that Cowell will never ride an e-bike again because his girlfriend has decided his adventurous days on two wheels are over for good. He doesn’t say anything about that either.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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