Simon Cowell set to ‘undergo back surgery’ six years after fearing he’d never walk again following e-bike crash

Simon Cowell is reportedly set to ‘undergo back surgery’ six years after fearing he would never walk again following his terrifying e-bike crash.

The music mogul, 66, 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.

TMZ allege Simon’s upcoming procedure will force him to sit out of America’s Got Talent for several weeks.

The Daily Mail has approached Simon’s representatives for comment.

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.”

‘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 massive ‘wheelie’ due to the power of the throttle, and said he immediately knew he had broken his back.

Though his surgeon initially feared he would be paralysed from the accident, Simon 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.

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