Simon Cowell Was Once Arrested for Hijacking Bus: Now He Feels 'Love Again' Thanks to Son Who 'Saved' His Life

• Simon Cowell told how his son saved his life.

• He recalls the hard times when he was the same age as his child.

• "If Eric hadn't come along, God knows what would have happened."

Simon Cowell was known as a bachelor for much of his life. However, after he dated his partner's best friend, he found that being a father was a new adventure in his life that he could enjoy.

Eric Cowell was born to Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman in 2014. Simon has often spoken about how much he loves being a father. He has even expressed that Eric changed him as a person.

Simon mentioned that before Eric was born, he was a workaholic and was obsessed with the ratings his various TV shows got. However, once his son was born, he stopped concerning himself with those things.

Talking to "The Sun," Simon mentioned how thankful he was to have his son in his life. He confessed:

“If Eric hadn’t come along, God knows what would have happened.”

He also said he was grateful that he was different from the man he was ten years ago. Simon admitted that after his parents died, he wasn't sure he would feel that type of love again until Eric was born.

Arrests and Disorderly Conduct: What Were Simon Cowell's Hard Times Like?

While Simon has built a successful career in show business, it was not always easy for him. He got into a lot of trouble when he was younger. It started at age eight when Simon said he was a nightmare.

He mentioned that he began drinking and smoking when he was just eight years old. He also confessed that he almost set fire to their house when he was trying to prove to his brother that Santa wasn’t real by setting fire to a fake beard.

However, all of these paled in comparison to stealing his father’s car when he was ten. He was unable to drive and ended up crashing the car. He said that even though he crashed his father’s car, his father was softer on him than his mother.

Behind all of the trouble he caused as a child, Simon admitted that he was rather introverted. He said:

"The funny thing is that, for all the trouble I caused, I was actually unbelievably shy as a kid. I was okay as long as I was in my own house or with my friends."

Simon said that being a celebrity helped him to become more extroverted because the ice was already broken when he met people because they knew of him before he ever spoke to them, which helped him.

How Did Fatherhood Change Him?

Simon has often talked about how being a father to Eric has turned him into a better person, but he also said that even before his son was born, his personality began to change. He said he was “besotted” with his son from the moment he saw him on a scan.

The “X-Factor” judge affectionately called his son “Tad” when he was in the womb because he said he looked like a little tadpole on the scans. Simon has admitted that being a father has brought on his softer side.

Kelly Clarkson, who was interviewing Simon when he made these revalations, said that she thought it was sweet that the man who was once gruff and cold was now working on writing children's books with his son.

Simon admitted that he never thought he would do something like that either, but his son had brought so much more into his world and he would do anything to make him happy. He said it was scary how much he loved Eric.