Simon Cowell
Simon CowellReuters

Simon Cowell, the man behind popular reality television shows like The X Factor, American Idol and Britain's Got Talent, is expecting his first child with his close friend's wife, according to a report by Us Weekly.

The weekly magazine has reported that the 53-year-old television reality show mogul has fathered a child with New York socialite Lauren Silverman, the estranged wife of his close friend and real estate mogul Andrew Silverman.

"She's around 10 weeks along," an insider told Us Weekly. "Lauren and Andrew have been unhappy in their marriage for some time, and their divorce has been in the works for a while. As their marriage deteriorated, she and Simon became close."

Lauren Silverman, who is still technically married to Andrew Silverman, is plannning to leave her estranged husband to be with the father of her child, according to the report.

Simon Cowell was spotted holidaying with Lauren in the past. He dated television personality Terri Seymour for six years before getting engaged to make up artist Mezhgan Hussainy in 2010 which was called off a year later. He also admitted that he had an affair with The X Factor judge Dannii Minogue.

It may be recalled that Simon Cowell had expressed his apprehensions of having kids in the past.

"God, no. I couldn't have children. If I had them here drawing on the walls I'd go nuts. With kids, you've got a routine you can't escape from. You've got to be up at a certain time. Got to listen. When all you want to do is sit in a corner thinking," he had said in an interview in 2009.

However, he said in an interview this April that he loves kids and didn't rule out having one.

Interestingly, he has been into in charity work and supports children from The Association Of Children's Hospices and visits them whenever he finds time.

Well, the news of the baby will come as a shock to Simon Cowell's fans - may be even more shocking than some X Factor auditions!