While flamboyant Bruno Tonioli sits front of the camera as our favourite judge on Britain’s Got Talent, Lauren Silverman, the partner of the show’s boss Simon Cowell, 65, is happy to support behind the scenes. Now Lauren, 47 – who splits her time with Simon and their son Eric, 11, and her son Adam, 18, from a previous relationship between luxury homes in Los Angeles, London and the Cotswolds – and former Strictly star Bruno, 69, tell Closer about their unbreakable bond…
Hi there, Bruno and Lauren! We love the fact that you always come together to the Chelsea Flower Show and look fabulous!
Bruno: We love going on a date to the Chelsea Flower Show, I mean, it’s the only way to get Lauren out of the house! [Laughs] Lauren looks amazing – she’s all Ralph Lauren and Sandro!
Lauren: It’s lucky because Simon doesn’t go anywhere!
B: But he keeps saying, ‘I’m coming’, and he doesn’t.
L: He keeps telling us he’s going to join us.
B: Next year. Definitely.
L: We’ll get him out!
Is Simon a bit antisocial?
L: No, he’s just working. He’s so busy. He’s got the show [Britain’s Got Talent] going on right now.
Are you guys going to take a break after the show and go on holiday together?
L: Bruno’s coming out to the Cotswolds to stay with us again.
B: Oh, I wondered… there you go!
L: Definitely. It’s so nice, especially with the weather like this. It’s just beautiful.
Posh and Becks have a place out there too?
L: They are our neighbours!
B: But they’re busy people.
L: We kind of keep ourselves to ourselves. We’re just… It’s not like a full compound [of celebs] there.
B: There’s a little group who get together. It’s good to keep what you do in your private life very separate. Nobody knows what’s going on and I like it that way. And we just don’t even talk about work. We just chill.
L: Bruno is like family to us. He is. We switch off properly…
B: Switching off is so important. I love reading my books.
L: We also watch movies, do yoga and clay pigeon shooting.
B: Clay pigeon shooting is not for me!
L: Me neither! [Bursts out laughing]
B: But yoga with the kids, yes.
Do you work out together?
L: We do, yeah. We walk the dogs together. We cook.
B: Walking the dogs is the best. Pebbles is the most annoying and then adoring dog. She drives me crazy
L: Pebbles is my big German shepherd. She loves Bruno.
B: She’s adorable.
L: [Laughs] You know why? She figured out that he keeps all of the pastries from breakfast in his room. And she goes in and nicks them. So she always walks out of Bruno’s room with a croissant in her mouth!
B: She goes in and steals everything! [Laughs]
Is Bruno like a godfather figure to Eric?
L: Yeah, definitely. He’s Uncle Bruno to us. Eric loves him.
Do you spoil him with gifts and stuff like that?
B: No, no! He’s not spoiled at all, actually. Eric is a very, very, very well brought up kid. I mean, he’s not spoiled at all.
Really? He could easily be…
B: No. But trust me, he’s not.
He comes to the BGT shows as well, doesn’t he?
B: Yeah occasionally. Why not?
L: It’s a family show.
B: Kids love the show very much!
L: And the nice thing is, like, the other judges, like Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon, all of their kids and Eric, they’ve grown up together. So it’s a really nice, like, family kind of vibe with all of us there. It’s lovely.
Has Eric got a tip who’s going to win BGT?
L: I’m sure he does!
B: On the subject of Amanda, she’s here today. We’re supposed to meet her.
L: Yes, let’s go and catch up with her now. See you later!
Closer spoke to Lauren and Bruno at The King’s Trust Garden: Seeding Success designed by Joe Perkins at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.