Lauren Silverman has recalled finding out she was pregnant with son Eric following an affair with her husband's friend Simon Cowell 12 years ago. 

Speaking on Giovanna Fletcher's podcast, Happy Mum, Lauren, 48, said it was the hardest time of her life and she was understandably battling mixed emotions.

Giovanna, 41, asked: 'So what was it like finding out you were pregnant with Eric?' 

Lauren, who now goes by the name Lauren Cowell, said: 'There are so many emotions that went with that because it was like, the end of my marriage. 

'It was one of the hardest times of my life and it was just, the way that people would look at me. I was on the cover of every magazine and there were news stories about it because... Simon being Simon... and it was just awful.

'That was really the pivotal moment for me when I stopped drinking [recently] that I was able to really look within and say "OK, this is how I feel and it's OK to feel whatever those things are and with that, comes a real sense of freedom and independence".  

'I can't explain it, it's like having a breakthrough, a fog lifted and that was such a huge moment for me.'

Lauren and Simon's affair was rumoured to have started when he was on holiday with her and her husband of ten years, Andrew Silverman, 49, in Barbados.

She fell pregnant with Eric - she was already mother to son Adam who is now aged 20. 

Andrew filed for divorce and cited adultery as the cause for separation and Lauren and Simon became a couple, getting engaged in December 2021.

In 2013, Simon said of the affair: 'I let down a friend and I feel bad about that. But the good thing is I’m having a baby and never thought I would.'  

A year later, Andrew branded the ordeal of losing his wife to Simon 'a very difficult time in my life', but added that he 'learned a lot'.

Speaking to the New York Observer, the real-estate entrepreneur said: 'I am a regular person, not a tabloid thing. It was a fascinating experience, unexpected and shocking.

'Being in the public spotlight is not something I envy. It’s never been my way. I learned a lot about myself . . . the importance of family. My focus has been on my son throughout the whole ordeal.'

In 2015, Lauren congratulated Andrew when he got engaged to Samantha Zimmerman. 

Simon, 66, often says that his son, Eric, now 12, completely changed his life and saved him from being an overworked workaholic. 

And Lauren broke down to Giovanna on Sunday when she spoke about how music mogul Simon reacted to the birth of his only child.

She said: 'Simon was so emotional and I just remember - I remember thinking in that moment, god your life is about to change and you have no idea what's about to happen to you.

'There's no way he could have known because he was someone who basically had everything under control and he kind of had his ways about him. 

'And I think, you know, becoming a father completely changed his life.'

Protective parents Simon and Lauren have banned their son from social media and Lauren has been calling for urgent action to make the internet safer for children. 

On Monday, PM Keir Starmer, unveiled sweeping reforms to protect children online, with the measures dubbed an 'Australia plus' package.

Britain will follow Australia's example in raising the minimum age to 16 for sites such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube and Snapchat.

The crackdown is set to go further than Australia's by taking 'world leading' action on gaming and live-streaming platforms so strangers will not be able to contact children.

Lauren has said she kept herself private up until now in order to protect her children while they were growing up. 

She said: 'For 12 years I've been... like you said, people probably haven't even heard me speak in public.

'I was very intentional about keeping myself private, but also, for my children and wanting them to be really protected in all of this.'