Simon Cowell spoke out for the first time since he underwent emergency surgery after breaking his back in an electric bicycle accident at home.
“Some good advice… If you buy an electric trail bike, read the manual before you ride it for the first time,” the TV personality, 60, joked via Twitter on Sunday, August 9. “I have broken part of my back. Thank you to everyone for your kind messages. And a massive thank you to all the nurses and doctors. Some of the nicest people I have ever met. Stay safe everyone.”
Some good advice…
If you buy an electric trail bike, read the manual before you ride it for the first time.
I have broken part of my back.
Thank you to everyone for your kind messages.— Simon Cowell (@SimonCowell) August 10, 2020
And a massive thank you to all the nurses and doctors. Some of the nicest people I have ever met.
Stay safe everyone
Simon.— Simon Cowell (@SimonCowell) August 10, 2020
Cowell was hospitalized on Saturday, August 8, after falling from his bike in the courtyard of his Malibu home.
“Simon has broken his back and will be having surgery this evening,” his rep said in a statement to Us Weekly at the time. “He’s doing fine, he’s under observation and is in the best possible hands.”
The former American Idol judge was in the operating room for five hours and had a metal rod placed in his back, according to multiple reports.
After the incident, two of Cowell’s fellow America’s Got Talent judges took to social media to send him their best wishes. He will not appear in the Tuesday, August 11, or Wednesday, August 12, episodes, which are the first live shows of season 15.
“Wishing you a speedy recovery @simoncowell,” Heidi Klum wrote via Instagram on Sunday alongside a photo of herself, Howie Mandel and new judge Sofia Vergara gesturing toward Cowell’s empty chair on set.
The Modern Family alum, 48, shared the same picture on her page, writing, “We miss our boss!! Come back fast @simoncowell!!”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cowell has been quarantined in California with his longtime girlfriend, Lauren Silverman, and their 6-year-old son, Eric. Silverman, 43, also has a 14-year-old son, Adam, from a previous relationship.
“When you’re 60, and you have a little boy, who, when he wakes up, is bouncing off the ceiling, it’s like, you’ve got to try and keep that energy yourself,” the record executive told Us in March while discussing his newly healthy lifestyle. “That was my biggest thing, but [also] changing my diet and everything else. I’ve got to play football with him. I’ve got to take him go-karting. [He] was a much-needed push.”
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