Simon Cowell recalls almost dying after life-threatening accident in 2020

Simon Cowell has candidly shared details about the harrowing incident that nearly cost him his life four years ago.

In a conversation with Steven Bartlett on the latest episode of 'Diary Of A CEO', the entertainment industry titan expressed his gratitude for being alive today.

Back in 2020, the man behind 'The X Factor' experienced a severe accident while riding an electric motorbike in Malibu. The mishap resulted in Cowell, now 64, falling off the bike and subsequently enduring extensive surgery lasting several hour, as reported by Wales Online.

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Steven Bartlett recounted the ordeal and said: "Unfortunately at the time of the pandemic so we're all trapped inside. You were on an electric motorbike where you had an accident and broke your back in three places."

He went on to describe the intense medical procedure Cowell underwent: "You had a very intense six-hour surgery, which included having a metal rod put into your back to stabilize it. According to all the accounts that I've heard you were very lucky to be alive."

To which Simon acknowledged the severity of the situation, he said: "Yeah... actually yeah, it was pretty bad."

Steven Bartlett said: "I think that's an understatement from what I've heard."

Reflecting on his lifestyle prior to the accident, the 'Britain's Got Talent' judge realised he had been neglecting his fitness. Simon said: "I was getting up, going straight to the telephone, and I would sit by that telephone for hours, and hours, and hours. I really wasn't getting the steps in, I wasn't eating properly."

Cowell then delved into the aftermath of the accident: "So once I, you know, it was a bad accident - and I knew it was bad the second it happened. The recovery was pretty difficult.

"If I had to go back in time again to get to where I am today I would have gone through that again. As bad as it was the upside was worth it because if I hadn't broken my back I don't think I would have ever realized how unfit I really was."

On recalling how grave his fall was, Simon added: "It got so bad I had to sign a form just before I had the operation, which was 'if this doesn't work out, will you allow us to switch to the machine off'.

"I'm like, 'well that's encouraging', just before I'm about to go under. So I'm thinking, 'this could be it'. But I was in so much pain, I was just thinking, 'just please get me out of this pain'."

He detailed how gruelling his recovery process was and said: "I had a fantastic nurse. She was like, you know how a cuckoo just pushes the bird out of the nest.

"One day, she just said to me, 'get out into your garden, even if you walk 20 paces, just do it'. And I did it, it was hard but then I just built up and started to build up my step count over time."