Simon Cowell’s fiancée Lauren has opened up about her fears over their son Eric, admitting she is ‘freaked out’.
Lauren and Simon first started dating over 10 years ago. Going from strength to strength in 2014, they welcomed their son Eric, now 12, and got engaged in 2016.
However, according to Lauren, she and Simon – who is on Britain’s Got Talent today (April 25) – have a “nagging fear” about Eric.
Simon Cowell’s wife Lauren shares fears about son
In an interview, Lauren recalled a recent incident that happened on the school run. While driving to school, Eric had Lauren’s phone so he could pick a song to play in the car.
But it turned out that the youngster had downloaded social media app Snapchat.
“I knew nothing about it, and how it actually worked. But the more I started to understand about it, the more it really freaked me out,” she told the Mirror earlier this month.
Lauren then went on to share her concerns over social media. She said: “Social media has been something that has been a nagging fear for both me and Simon for a long time. It’s why we held off before giving Eric a phone.”
Simon’s son Eric ‘is not allowed on any social media’
Months after discovering Eric downloaded Snapchat, and Lauren has decided to campaign to raise the minimum age of children accessing social media to 16 years old. She has joined the Raise the Age campaign.
Lauren also revealed that Eric now has his own phone but there is no social media on it.
She explained: “He’s not allowed on any apps, on any social media. He doesn’t have Snapchat. I’ve now removed everything, so he literally can text and WhatsApp his friends.”
Lauren then revealed that she is “on every one of his group chats”, describing herself as “the silent person in the background” but is still able to monitor what’s going on at all times.
Why did Simon and Lauren change their minds?
Lauren revealed last month that she and Simon had allowed Eric to have a phone.
Taking to Instagram, she explained: “For a long time Simon and I were very firm about one thing, no phone for Eric. (Simon himself hasn’t had a phone for nearly 8 years!)
“But recently Eric had a very honest conversation with us about it that made us rethink our position slightly. He now has a phone with some very clear boundaries.”
She then said that there are rules he must adhere too: “The main one being, no social media. Just texting and calling friends and family.” Lauren then noted that “parenting in the current world we are living in can sometimes feel overwhelming”.
Watch Simon on Britain’s Got Talent on Saturday (April 25) at 7:00pm on ITV1.
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