Tertius News is an AI-native newsroom: an AI model reads the linked source articles below and extracts what each outlet reported, so you can compare their coverage side by side. How this works →
Sinitta calls Simon Cowell 'one of the worst boyfriends' but insists they're better as friends
Sinitta has described Simon Cowell as 'one of the worst boyfriends' she has ever had, while insisting they are better suited as friends. The singer spoke candidly about their decades-long relationship, her hopes for marriage, and her current romance with a mystery man outside the entertainment industry.
By Tertius News AI Desk2 distinct · 7 mastheads · 7 articlesVersion 1Coverage Published
distinct = voices after wire copies and reprints of the same article collapse; mastheads = publisher names; articles = URLs
Sinitta has opened up about her past romance with Simon Cowell, describing him as "one of the worst boyfriends" she has ever had. In an interview with Woman's Own Magazine, the So Macho singer said, "I can honestly say he's probably one of the worst boyfriends I ever had."
Sinitta, 62, said she is "forever seen as the person mourning Simon as a boyfriend or husband," but insisted the pair are far better suited as friends. She maintained that she still "adores" and loves Cowell, but believes their friendship is where they truly thrive, likening her bond with him to that of an "older brother" who she finds "so annoying."
The singer, one of the music mogul's best-known former partners, said their relationship dates back to the mid-1980s, when Cowell signed her to his record label. Reflecting on their romantic history, she admitted it was "anything but smooth sailing" and that she had harboured hopes of marriage, but claimed Cowell "had no intention" of making such a commitment.
Sinitta also spoke about their professional ties, claiming one of her tracks was among the first to generate significant income for Cowell in the 1980s, quipping that it earned him enough to purchase a car "instead of stealing mine all the time." She described their enduring connection as a "love-hate relationship" and now sees him more as an older brother.
Sinitta has previously spoken about marrying businessman Andy Wilner in 2002 as a "revenge move" following her split from the X Factor creator. "But even during that relationship, it was obvious that there was unfinished business [with Simon]," she revealed on the Suddenly Single podcast. She and Wilner separated seven years later after adopting two children together. "I assumed everything I wanted meant a normal family life with [Simon]. And then he met the love of his life and had a child. Silly me," Sinitta confessed.
Cowell has been in a relationship with Lauren Silverman, a close friend of Sinitta's, since 2012. The couple got engaged in 2021 and share his only child, 12-year-old son Eric, of whom Sinitta is godmother.
Sinitta also revealed she has been in a relationship with someone outside the entertainment industry for quite some time. Describing her partner to The Mirror, she said he is "a Leeds lad" with "a lot of personality" and "bad dad jokes," and noted that he is "much more afraid" than she is when it comes to the spotlight. "When I knew I was doing the jungle, we kind of stepped back a bit because he's not in show business," she said.
How each outlet told it
A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.
Framing: The headline emphasizes Sinitta's blunt characterization of Simon Cowell as 'one of the worst boyfriends' she's ever had. — lighthearted and candid
Facts Included:
Sinitta described Simon Cowell as 'one of the worst boyfriends' she has ever had
Sinitta said she is 'forever seen as the person mourning Simon as a boyfriend or husband'
Sinitta says they are better suited as friends
Their relationship began in the mid-1980s when Simon signed her to his record label
Sinitta told Woman's Own Magazine: 'I can honestly say he's probably one of the worst boyfriends I ever had'
Sinitta said Simon 'had no intention' of marriage
Sinitta likened her bond with Simon to an 'older brother' who is 'so annoying'
Sinitta claimed one of her tracks earned Simon enough to buy a car 'instead of stealing mine all the time'
Sinitta characterized their relationship as a 'love-hate relationship'
Sinitta previously claimed her 2002 marriage to Andy Wilner was a 'revenge move'
Sinitta said on the Suddenly Single podcast: 'But even during that relationship, it was obvious that there was unfinished business [with Simon]'
The pair later split after seven years, having adopted two children together
Sinitta confessed: 'I assumed everything I wanted meant a normal family life with [Simon]. And then he met the love of his life and had a child. Silly me'
Simon has been with Lauren Silverman since 2012
The couple got engaged in 2021 and share 12-year-old son Eric
Sinitta is Eric's godmother
Sinitta disclosed she has been in a relationship with someone outside the entertainment industry
Sinitta said her partner is 'a Leeds lad' with 'a lot of personality'
Framing: Emphasizes Sinitta's blunt criticism of Simon Cowell as a boyfriend, using her quote 'one of the worst boyfriends' and branding him 'annoying' — lighthearted and gossipy
Facts Included:
Sinitta has said Simon Cowell is “one of the worst boyfriends” she’s ever had
Their relationship dates back to the mid-1980s, when Simon signed her to his label
Sinitta told Woman’s Own Magazine: "I can honestly say he’s probably one of the worst boyfriends I ever had"
The 62-year-old said she had hoped to marry him, but claimed he "had no intention" of committing
Sinitta sees Simon as an "older brother" and jokes he is "so annoying"
She claimed one of her songs was the first to make Simon money in the 1980s, quipping it earned him enough to buy a car
She described their bond as sibling-like with a "love-hate relationship"
Sinitta has previously spoken about marrying businessman Andy Wilner in 2002 as a "revenge move" after splitting from Simon
She and Andy later separated seven years later after adopting two children
Sinitta added: "I assumed everything I wanted meant a normal family life with [Simon]. And then he met the love of his life and had a child. Silly me."
Simon has been with Lauren Silverman since 2012, and they got engaged in 2021
They share his only child, 12-year-old son Eric
Sinitta revealed she has been dating someone outside showbusiness for quite some time
She told The Mirror: "He’s much more afraid then I am. When I knew I was doing the jungle, we kind of stepped back a bit because he’s not in show business..."
Sinitta described Simon Cowell as 'one of the worst boyfriends' she has ever had
Sinitta said she is 'forever seen as the person mourning Simon as a boyfriend or husband'
Sinitta says they are better suited as friends
Their relationship began in the mid-1980s when Simon signed her to his record label
Sinitta told Woman's Own Magazine: 'I can honestly say he's probably one of the worst boyfriends I ever had'
Sinitta said Simon 'had no intention' of marriage
Sinitta likened her bond with Simon to an 'older brother' who is 'so annoying'
Sinitta claimed one of her tracks earned Simon enough to buy a car 'instead of stealing mine all the time'
Sinitta characterized their relationship as a 'love-hate relationship'
Sinitta previously claimed her 2002 marriage to Andy Wilner was a 'revenge move'
Sinitta said on the Suddenly Single podcast: 'But even during that relationship, it was obvious that there was unfinished business [with Simon]'
The pair later split after seven years, having adopted two children together
Sinitta confessed: 'I assumed everything I wanted meant a normal family life with [Simon]. And then he met the love of his life and had a child. Silly me'
Simon has been with Lauren Silverman since 2012
The couple got engaged in 2021 and share 12-year-old son Eric
Sinitta is Eric's godmother
Sinitta disclosed she has been in a relationship with someone outside the entertainment industry
Sinitta said her partner is 'a Leeds lad' with 'a lot of personality'
Sinitta described Simon Cowell as 'one of the worst boyfriends' she has ever had
Sinitta said she is 'forever seen as the person mourning Simon as a boyfriend or husband'
Sinitta says they are better suited as friends
Their relationship began in the mid-1980s when Simon signed her to his record label
Sinitta told Woman's Own Magazine: 'I can honestly say he's probably one of the worst boyfriends I ever had'
Sinitta said Simon 'had no intention' of marriage
Sinitta likened her bond with Simon to an 'older brother' who is 'so annoying'
Sinitta claimed one of her tracks earned Simon enough to buy a car 'instead of stealing mine all the time'
Sinitta characterized their relationship as a 'love-hate relationship'
Sinitta previously claimed her 2002 marriage to Andy Wilner was a 'revenge move'
Sinitta said on the Suddenly Single podcast: 'But even during that relationship, it was obvious that there was unfinished business [with Simon]'
The pair later split after seven years, having adopted two children together
Sinitta confessed: 'I assumed everything I wanted meant a normal family life with [Simon]. And then he met the love of his life and had a child. Silly me'
Simon has been with Lauren Silverman since 2012
The couple got engaged in 2021 and share 12-year-old son Eric
Sinitta is Eric's godmother
Sinitta disclosed she has been in a relationship with someone outside the entertainment industry
Sinitta said her partner is 'a Leeds lad' with 'a lot of personality'
Sinitta described Simon Cowell as 'one of the worst boyfriends' she has ever had
Sinitta said she is 'forever seen as the person mourning Simon as a boyfriend or husband'
Sinitta says they are better suited as friends
Their relationship began in the mid-1980s when Simon signed her to his record label
Sinitta told Woman's Own Magazine: 'I can honestly say he's probably one of the worst boyfriends I ever had'
Sinitta said Simon 'had no intention' of marriage
Sinitta likened her bond with Simon to an 'older brother' who is 'so annoying'
Sinitta claimed one of her tracks earned Simon enough to buy a car 'instead of stealing mine all the time'
Sinitta characterized their relationship as a 'love-hate relationship'
Sinitta previously claimed her 2002 marriage to Andy Wilner was a 'revenge move'
Sinitta said on the Suddenly Single podcast: 'But even during that relationship, it was obvious that there was unfinished business [with Simon]'
The pair later split after seven years, having adopted two children together
Sinitta confessed: 'I assumed everything I wanted meant a normal family life with [Simon]. And then he met the love of his life and had a child. Silly me'
Simon has been with Lauren Silverman since 2012
The couple got engaged in 2021 and share 12-year-old son Eric
Sinitta is Eric's godmother
Sinitta disclosed she has been in a relationship with someone outside the entertainment industry
Sinitta said her partner is 'a Leeds lad' with 'a lot of personality'
Framing: Highlights Sinitta's blunt criticism of Simon Cowell as one of her worst boyfriends — Sympathetic and reflective, focusing on Sinitta's personal memories and feelings.
Facts Included:
Sinitta described Simon Cowell as 'one of the worst boyfriends' she has ever had.
Sinitta and Simon Cowell's on-off relationship spanned more than two decades.
Sinitta met Simon in the mid-1980s when he signed her to his record label.
Sinitta told Woman's Own Magazine: 'I can honestly say he's probably one of the worst boyfriends I ever had.'
Sinitta, 62, hoped for marriage but claimed Simon 'had no intention' of making such a commitment.
Sinitta said their friendship is where they truly thrive, likening her bond to that of an 'older brother' who she finds 'so annoying'.
Sinitta claimed one of her tracks earned Simon enough to purchase a car 'instead of stealing mine all the time'.
Sinitta characterized their enduring connection as a 'love-hate relationship'.
Sinitta previously claimed her 2002 marriage to Andy Wilner was a 'revenge move' following her split from the X Factor creator.
Sinitta revealed on the Suddenly Single podcast: 'But even during that relationship, it was obvious that there was unfinished business [with Simon].'
Sinitta and Andy Wilner separated seven years later, having adopted two children together.
Sinitta confessed: 'I assumed everything I wanted meant a normal family life with [Simon]. And then he met the love of his life and had a child. Silly me.'
Simon has been in a relationship with Lauren Silverman, a close friend of Sinitta's, since 2012.
Simon and Lauren Silverman got engaged in 2021 and share his only child, 12-year-old son Eric.
Sinitta is Eric's godmother.
Sinitta had a relationship with someone outside the entertainment industry, as she told The Mirror: 'He's a character, he's a funny guy, a Leeds lad.'
Framing: The headline emphasizes a negative characterization of Simon Cowell as an 'annoying' boyfriend, as stated by his ex. — playful and celebrity-gossip oriented
Facts Included:
Sinitta has said Simon Cowell is 'one of the worst boyfriends' she’s ever had
Sinitta claims she is 'forever seen as the person mourning Simon as a boyfriend or husband'
Sinitta revealed she has been dating a mystery man for quite some time
Sinitta said her romance with Simon was far from straightforward
Sinitta told Woman’s Own Magazine: 'I can honestly say he’s probably one of the worst boyfriends I ever had'
Sinitta said she had hoped to marry him, but claimed he 'had no intention' of committing to her
Sinitta insists she still 'adores' and loves him, but believes they work better as friends
Sinitta now sees Simon more as an 'older brother' and joked that he is 'so annoying'
Sinitta claimed that one of her songs was the first to make Simon money in the 1980s
Sinitta quipped that it earned him enough to buy a car 'instead of stealing mine all the time'
Sinitta describes their bond as sibling-like with a 'love-hate relationship'
AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the mastheads we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimSinitta described Simon Cowell as one of the worst boyfriends she has ever had.
ClaimSinitta confessed: 'I assumed everything I wanted meant a normal family life with [Simon]. And then he met the love of his life and had a child. Silly me.'