Cowell 'paid off' ex's

SyCo boss admits to paying off former flames...

10:43 26 September 2011

Simon Cowell has admitted he "paid off" some of his ex-girlfriends.

The man behind the X Factor has famously remained close friends with his former flames, including Sinitta, Terri Seymour and Jackie St Clair.

Now, it has been revealed that Cowell pays some of them an 'unofficial alimony', as Simon told the Guardian:

"You can't have somebody in your life who's become accustomed to a certain thing, and just because you don't want to be in the relationship any more say to them, now everything is cut off. That doesn't make sense.

"It's not alimony. It's, I believe, doing the right thing. That comes back to me wanting them to be happy, you just can't do it too many times."

The 52-year-old also revealed that he thought he could have been targeted in the News of the World phone hacking scandal:

"It crossed my mind.

"A lot of the people there I knew. I… I… A lot of the people who you guys uncovered – it's difficult for me, because I knew them as friends.

"It's been a difficult time for me. I'd rather not know."