Simon Cowell has revealed his surgeon feared he would never walk again following his near-fatal e-bike crash.

The music mogul, 65, broke his back in 2020 after being thrown off an electric bike when he was testing the vehicle at his home in Malibu, California.

He underwent extensive surgery after the shock accident including having a metal rod put in his back to stabilise it and he has overhauled his lifestyle in the years since.

Now, Simon has spoken more about the devastating impact of the crash, revealing his surgeon didn’t know if he’d be able to ‘fix’ his back due to the severity of the injury.

Speaking to Elizabeth Day on the How To Fail podcast, Simon revealed he ‘could have died’ in the accident and his surgeon warned him he might never walk again.

He shared: ‘He showed me the X-ray and he said ”look, I’m not going to lie Simon, I don’t know if I can fix this, which means you probably won’t walk and secondly, the operation could take 11 hours”. 

Simon Cowell (pictured in April) has revealed his surgeon feared he would never walk again following his near-fatal e-bike crash

The music mogul, 65, broke his back in 2020 after being thrown off his electric bike while he was testing the vehicle at his home in Malibu, California (pictured on an e-bike in 2024) 

‘They said the obvious – it could go wrong – and all I could think about was my family and everything. In that moment you kind of realise the most important thing is your health and don’t do stupid things.’

The former X Factor judge said the horror accident was a major ‘wake-up call’ about his ‘crazy’ lifestyle and taught him to stop taking risks in life.

‘It was a wake-up moment, which is I’m crazy,’ he explained. 

‘It kind of happened for a reason because I thought I was fit but then when I had to do all the physio after, just walking, they make you walk very quickly, I pretty much couldn’t move and then I started to walk a lot and thought ”oh God, I was in a really bad place”.’ 

Reflecting on the accident itself, Simon revealed he was thrown from his e-bike after it did a mᴀssive ‘wheelie’ due to the power of the throttle, and said he immediately knew he had broken his back.

‘I shipped it in from England, couldn’t wait to drive it. I was in the driveway and my son was there and I pulled the throttle, it did the biggest wheelie and it threw me like 7-8ft in the air,’ he said.

‘I landed on my back and the second I landed I thought ”s**t, I know I’ve broken my back” because I could feel it. 

‘The first thing I did was ”can I move my hands?”, yes, ”can I move my feet?”, yes, OK, that’s not too bad.’

Now, Simon (pictured in 2024) has spoken more about the impact of the crash, revealing his surgeon didn’t know if he’d be able to ‘fix’ his back due to the severity of the injury

Simon said it led him to realise his health was ‘more important’ than anything else and focus on his family life with his partner Lauren Silverman and their son Eric (all pictured in September)

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Though his surgeon initially feared he would be paralysed from the accident, Simon has made a full recovery and says he is now fitter than he was before the crash.

He has since shed three stone and has gradually ditched smoking, which saw him have 80 cigarettes a day at the height of his habit.

In 2023, he told The Sun: ‘I was so close to living the rest of my life in a wheelchair, it gives you a completely different outlook on life. In a positive way.

‘It hurt – trust me – when it happened, but good things happened off the back of it.’

Simon said it led him to realise his health was ‘more important’ than anything else and he completely overhauled his lifestyle to find a better work-life balance.

The accident also made him focus on his family life with his partner Lauren Silverman and their son Eric, 11, and he also cut down on his work amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Simon previously smoked up to 80 cigarettes per day before reducing his use to just two each day in 2017 after falling down the stairs of his London home.

He used to work through the entire night, but he now refuses to work past 6pm or on his days off.