Simon Cowell Is Finally Ready to Wed Longtime Fiancee Lauren Silverman After a Brush With ‘Mortality’

Simon Cowell‘s recent back surgery has not only reminded him just how precious life is, a source tells Examiner, it’s also given him the push he needs to finally marry longtime fiancée Lauren Silverman, who’s been by his side 24/7 during the brutal recovery.

“This has all been way harder than Simon expected,” admits the source. “He has needed help with every little thing. It has completely put him out of commission.”

Cowell, 66, underwent the routine procedure in September, TMZ reported, noting that he has had back issues stemming from a 2020 electric bike accident.

It’s also given the America’s Got Talent judge “time to think and really take stock of his life,” the source adds, while he takes a break from filming the competition show.

“It’s impossible not to feel your mortality during something as risky and debilitating as back surgery and Simon is no different,” notes the source. “He says it has really put things into perspective for him … and he had this huge realization that he needs to do the right thing by Lauren” after a nearly five-year engagement.

As Examiner previously reported, Cowell wanted Silverman, with whom he shares 12-year-old son Eric, to sign a prenup agreement that would protect his $600 million fortune before giving the 49-year-old socialite the wedding of her dreams.

However, that was before his change of heart.

“He doesn’t want to close himself off from that next level of a relationship simply because he doesn’t want to deal with the prenup and all the red tape,” says the source, adding that “since he can’t do much work from his sickbed, he’s spending his time wedding planning instead.”

When it comes to their long-awaited nuptials, “he wants it to be tasteful and very high-end,” the source reveals. “And he says he wants to do it as soon as possible, so it could very well happen before the end of this year.”