The former 'American Idol' judge and his longtime girlfriend's relationship was reportedly in 'crisis' before they got engaged as she's always wanted to get married, while he did not.

• Jan 13, 2022

AceShowbiz - Simon Cowell probably isn't as excited as other soon-to-be-grooms to get married right now. After news broke of his betrothal to his longtime girlfriend Lauren Silverman, it's now reported that their engagement was none other than a last-ditch effort to save their relationship, which was in "crisis."

While Lauren has reportedly always wanted to get married, Simon has made it clear that he's not a fan of matrimony. "Around Christmas I know that she was talking about it, and he was refusing," a source told The Post of the pair's alleged different views on marriage.

"They had reached a difficult point in the relationship - you might call it a crisis. There was misery," the source added of the longtime romance. "Perhaps she had made it clear that she was not going to stick around unless they got married."

But it's actually not their first engagement, according to the source. Simon and Lauren allegedly got engaged after their son Eric was born more than seven years ago, but he apparently had a change of heart later. "I know that Simon got her an engagement ring about a year after the pregnancy was announced … but he then put it away in a safe and made it clear that he didn't want to get married after all," the source dished.

The source went on talking about Lauren and her wish to get married, "She's a nice middle-class girl and she always wanted to get married. Her mum said that she trusted Simon to 'do the right thing' before Eric was born. Well, she's been waiting a long time - and so has Lauren."

As to why Simon finally agreed to marry her, a longtime colleague of the British music producer claimed that the engagement is much about his only son. "Everything he does now is about Eric and his legacy," the colleague said. "He wants to give Eric legitimacy."

Simon previously stated that he didn't believe in marriage and worried about what would happen to his fortune if he tied the knot. "The X Factor" creator said in 2008, "I don't believe in marriage, certainly not in this business. The truth is that you get married and in a year or two they clean you out! It's just not going to work."

After news of their engagement made headlines, Lauren flashed her engagement ring during a recent outing. The 44-year-old socialite was spotted wearing her sparkly new accessory on that finger when running errands in Malibu on Wednesday, January 12.