Married socialite Lauren Silverman, who is reportedly pregnant with Simon Cowell’s baby, leaves a Hamptons home today. (Aaron St. Clair/Splash News)
Simon Cowell is seen for the first time while leaving a taping of his show “The X factor” in Los Angeles after news of his affair with a married friend was revealed. (Deano/Hector Campos/Splash News)
Simon Cowell is seen for the first time while leaving a taping of his show “The X factor” in Los Angeles after news of his affair with a married friend was revealed. (Deano/Hector Campos/Splash News)
HOTLEY CREW: Lauren Silverman and Simon Cowell in St. Barths in 2012. (INFphoto.com)
TEMPTRESS: Lauren Silverman, now reported to be 10 weeks pregnant with Simon Cowell’s baby, is a “gold digger” in it for the payday, her friends say. (Bauer-Griffin.com)
LIGHT MY FIRE: Simon Cowell, with married Lauren Silverman (top) and cozying up with her on his yacht (bottom), will soon be her baby daddy. (
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Simon Cowell is becoming a first-time dad with a married woman who targeted him for a paternity payday, her friends said yesterday — and now, her cuckolded husband is gunning for his own piece of the “X-Factor” host in fiery New York divorce papers.
Scheming social climber Lauren Silverman, 36, had pretended to treat Cowell as just a close friend as they yachted and hobnobbed together — only to blindside her unsuspecting husband, Andrew, 37, long after the affair was in full swing, sources say.
2ND IMMACULATE CONCEPTION? SIMON COWELL’S TEAM DENIED SILVERMAN RELATIONSHIP TO PAGE SIX
“It is an unbelievable story of betrayal. It is a sad story and a tragic story,” Andrew’s brother, Alexander, told The Post.
One friend of the shapely brunette said that the Silvermans “weren’t estranged. The suggestion that she was an estranged wife who fell into another man’s arms is not the case.”
In fact, Andrew, a real-estate developer, had been so oblivious to the sordid, under-his-nose affair that he recently upgraded Lauren’s engagement ring with a 10-karat diamond, a friend said.
“She is a total gold digger,” one pal said.
Another added, “The pregnancy was by design.”
Andrew is so livid, he’s seeking revenge on both Cowell and his straying wife — who is 10 weeks pregnant with Cowell’s baby. He’s taking the highly unusual step of embarrassing Cowell personally by naming him as a co-respondent in divorce papers, which were filed under the radar in Manhattan Supreme Court two weeks ago.
New York is a no-fault divorce state, but Andrew has filed for a fault divorce based on adultery.
That means Cowell, 53, risks being hauled to the witness stand to reveal his finances — he is said to be worth about $350 million — in addition to the sordid details of his affair with Silverman.
“It’s really a signal to the spouse who cheated that the wronged spouse is very angry and that it’s going to be a very nasty, scorched-earth, high-profile litigation,” said noted divorce attorney Martha Cohen Stine.
Another top matrimonial attorney agreed that the rare move was a pressure tactic.
“It’s very nasty,” said William Zabel, billionaire George Soros’ attorney. “I assume it’s to embarrass them and get them to settle.”
Cowell and Lauren Silverman had met on vacation seven years ago at the exclusive Sandy Lane resort in Barbados. Silverman dutifully introduced Cowell to her husband.
The Silvermans and Cowell — who was squiring English presenter Terri Seymour at the time — hit it off. They double-dated and vacationed together frequently, remaining close as Cowell traded in Seymour for his next, long-haired brunette gal pal, makeup artist Mezhgan Hussainy, who would become Cowell’s fiancé.
The married Silvermans and the engaged Cowell and Hussainy were even photographed frolicking together on the X-Factor judge’s yacht in St. Barth’s in January 2012 as if everything was fine and faithful — even though by then their extramarital treachery was in flower, a friend of Lauren’s said.
Andrew and Lauren had lived together in their Upper East Side apartment until June, when she moved out to their home in Bridgehampton with their 7-year-old son, also named Andrew, to spend the summer near the beach.
Her friends say she’s “overjoyed” by the pregnancy and Cowell can’t wait to be a father.
“He’s thrilled,” one friend said, adding that he traveled to Miami to meet Lauren’s parents.
Lauren and Cowell have lawyered up, hiring the high-powered divorce team of Bernard Clair and Robert S. Cohen.
Lauren’s husband, Andrew, comes from a moderately wealthy real-estate family, although, compared to Cowell’s massive fortune, he’s a small fry.
“He’s just an average guy from a real- estate family,” said one realty source.
Andrew works for The Andalex Group, founded by his father, Allen Silverman. Andrew, along with his brother, Alexander, have been called rising stars in New York’s real-estate industry.
The company, however, ran into some problems with a marquee project in Long Island City, Queens, where it spent $130 million converting a former electric factory into luxury condominiums, according to published reports.
A group of condo owners in the Arris Lofts building filed a civil complaint in 2010 seeking $20 million in damages when they said the developer ignored repeated requests for repairs. The disposition of the claim was not known.
Andrew married Lauren while they were in their mid-20s.
“I always found her very pretty, but I found them to be very pretentious,” an acquaintance in the Silvermans’ social circle said. “And I always wondered why she married him, and I figured it was for money.”
Andrew was spotted running from his Midtown office to a car yesterday when reporters asked him for a comment.
Meanwhile, Cowell’s mother, Julie, seemed thrilled at the prospect of becoming a grandmother, telling The Sun newspaper in England, “I’m delighted. It’s wonderful.”
Rosy Davis, who is the wife of Lauren’s father, Steven, told Britain’s Daily Mail, “We are all excited for the baby. It’s beautiful. We feel blessed.”
Close friends of the Silvermans say the real issue is who will care for their little boy.
“How will all of this play out? That’s the really sad part,” a friend said.
Additional reporting by Tara Palmeri, Julia Marsh and Frank Rosario