[Red Moon]

Sinitta tells all: The truth about Simon Cowell and me

Sinitta and Simon Cowell have come full circle. When they first got together back in the Eighties, she was the big star. When they went out together, photographers would ask Simon to step out of the frame so they could get a shot of Sinitta on her own, without some little nobody spoiling the picture.

Nowadays, it is Sinitta who is politely requested to move away so they can get a photograph of Simon.

'In the old days, Simon was the record company man behind the suit and I got to be the pop star,' Sinitta recalls.

'When the photographers asked Simon to move out of the way, we'd pull a face at each other and I'd say, "They don't want you, they want me" - and he'd have to step out of the shot.

'He was carrying my bags and doing my schedules and driving the car. Now I'm carrying his bags. We get out of the car and it's "Simon! Simon!" and they want me out of the way. It's hilarious.'

Simon and Sinitta, who were together on and off for 20 years, began dating when Sinitta was just 14. She was his first ever signing and became a huge star, while Cowell remained for many years a nobody.

Today, as Sinitta puts it neatly: 'The worm has turned.'

It is Sinitta who now provides backstage back-up to Cowell on his phenomenally successful television talent show, The X-Factor. And it's Simon who's now in the limelight - 12 million viewers are expected to tune in to tomorrow's final - seated on the judges' panel, up there on stage, counting his millions.

Since they met, there has been an intriguing symmetry in this pair's lives.

Most recently, Sinitta's 48-year-old husband, Andy Willner, a headhunter, left the family home in April to move to Hong Kong.

Around the time that Willner upped and left, Simon was reported to be having problems with his partner, Terri Seymour, because of his perennial refusal to commit to marriage and children. Some time after that, he and Terri split up.

With both respective partners gone, Sinitta and Simon gravitated once more towards one another.

A loyal friend

Sinitta says Simon supported her during the very difficult first couple of months after Andy left.

'I don't know what I would have done without him. For the first couple of months, I hardly left the house. When I've been at my lowest, he's on the phone saying: "Right, I'm coming over."'

Now they spend virtually all their time together. They speak every day on the phone, work together on The X-Factor three days a week, and on Sundays they go for lunch or to the shops, or go round to Sinitta's mum's house or to see Simon's mum.

At Christmas, Sinitta and her children, Magdalena, three, and two-year-old Zac, will be staying with 'Silly Simon' at his luxury villa in Barbados.

When Sinitta is not with her ex, who is godfather to her children, she has a lifesize colour cardboard cutout of him to look at in the conservatory at her South-West London home.

'Yes, we do see each other all the time,' says Sinitta. 'He's exactly the same as he appears, but probably the only difference is he's a lot warmer.

'When he does play TV's Mr Nasty, I think that it is hilarious. He's actually a teddy bear - a teddy bear in a strong suit. He's not Mr Nasty at all.

'And he's exactly the same as he was back in the Eighties. We just kind of giggle all the time.'

They sound made for one another. Would Sinitta consider getting back with him?

'Probably over his dead body. But we're together all the time anyway, so it's kind of together without the heartbreak.'

Why has Simon never wanted to get married and have children? 'If Simon were to marry, he couldn't be the kid. I have three children now (she means Simon is her eldest child) and it's OK.

'He's like an unruly teenager. He's just a boy with money, living his wildest dreams. He's a workaholic, he's work driven, he's a perfectionist. Personally I think he works too hard, but he loves it.'

Uncertain times for Sinitta and Andy

Does she know what caused the split with Terri? She claims not to.

'I don't know what happened, just it happened a while ago. They'd had quite a few months to get used to it. By the time it became public, it was really old news for them.'

The precise nature of Sinitta and Simon's relationship has always been intriguing, and in an interview two years ago she reportedly said that the relationship was never actually consummated.

But today, Sinitta, whose hits in the Eighties included So Macho and Toy Boy, is puzzled by the suggestion that she and Simon did not have sex.

'We did have a proper physical relationship,' she says. 'I don't know how this idea we didn't has come about. We didn't at first, because I was underage; but later on, yes, absolutely.'

So he's not gay? 'He's not gay.' Well at least we have cleared that up. But what about Sinitta's marriage? Since April, her husband has been living in Hong Kong and commuting every eight weeks to see his wife and children.

Andy, who is divorced with two children from his previous marriage, has offices there, but it is apparent that his decision to move has not come about for work reasons.

The situation is uncertain, and asked to clarify whether they are separated, Sinitta replies: 'We really don't know.'

In one recent interview, Sinitta said: 'For various personal reasons to do with his past relationships, it meant he had to relocate.' In another she said it 'has been thrust upon us for personal reasons'.

Can she elaborate any more? 'We're just kind of working it out,' she says tentatively. 'Having a bit of time out. It's been quite stressful with him moving there, holding it all together on my own.

'I think after Christmas, having had time to have a really good break and time to just sit and just have some clarity, it will be easier.'

It sounds messy, and peculiarly bad timing given that they had finally been blessed with the family they wanted so much.

Andy's departure came just seven months after he and his wife had adopted Magdalena and Zac after five years of trying for a child of their own.

After their marriage in 2002, Sinitta and her husband endured one harrowing episode after another in their attempts to have a baby.

Sinitta suffered four miscarriages before trying IVF. After three attempts had resulted in failure, they turned in desperation to a surrogate mother, Kerry West, and were thrilled when she became pregnant using Andy's sperm. But Kerry miscarried twice; the second time she had been carrying twins. For Sinitta it was traumatic.

'I prayed every night that I would have my own baby to hold,' she says. 'My arms just seemed to ache for a child of my own. The more I longed for a baby, the more everyone around me seemed to be pregnant.'

The trials of motherhood

So the arrival of Magdalena and Zac into the family home in March 2007 seemed like a miracle, and the adoption was officially approved six months later.

But now Sinitta, who had relationships at the height of her stardom with David Essex and Brad Pitt, is effectively a single mother, and she admits that the future for her and Andy is uncertain.

Could things go either way? 'Yes, they could,' she says quietly.

But her marriage problems cannot stop her loving motherhood to bits. 'My children are absolutely amazing, she says. 'I genuinely laugh big belly-laughs every day because they're just funny little people, the way they see things.'

On the day of our interview, Zac has fallen over and cut his chin, and Sinitta's mother has had to take him to hospital.

'The private hospital wanted to give him a general anaesthetic and stitches, which nearly gave me a heart attack,' says Sinitta. 'So my mum takes him to a National Health hospital and they put a bit of surgical tape over him and he's absolutely fine.

'My little boy is a proper boy; he's not a cry-baby, he doesn't make a fuss. It hurt when it hurt, and now it's over.

'Today was the first time I said to myself: "Why did I want to be a mum?" All this worry. You can drive yourself nuts with worry.'

This year has brought great change in Sinitta's life: becoming a mother, her husband's sudden departure and the psychological milestone of turning 40.

But she looks amazing - years younger than her age. Her body is slim and toned through her six-days-a-week gym workouts (Simon bought her a Power Plate for her birthday) and she does not have a single wrinkle.

'Actually, before my birthday I thought I'd get something done, so I went to a clinic but was told I didn't need it. They said I had really good, thick skin and I should just exfoliate and cleanse.'

Unlike Simon. 'Oh yes, Simon loves his Botox.'

For her 40th, a friend of Sinitta's hosted a lunch. Guests included hypnotist Paul McKenna, Britain's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan and fellow X-Factor colleagues - choreographer Brian Friedman, judge Cheryl Cole and, of course, Simon.

The X-Factor consumes Sinitta's life. She helps Simon pick the contestants that he mentors, and acts as a mentor to all the contestants on the live show.

'I help Simon to select his act, but once we go live my role is to look at all the acts across the board. After all, whoever wins gets the record deal - and it's Simon's company.'

The intensity of the X Factor

In the summer, she was in Barbados with Simon working on the show and they flew back by private jet.

'That's how he travels, which is wonderful - but he's so used to it now, and I like to bring him back down to earth and have a reality check.

'When you've had it, like I had it before, and lost it, being able to experience it again second time around means you appreciate it a lot more.

'Before, I thought of it a bit more as convenience. Now, I'm sitting there thinking I'm one of the characters in Dynasty or something.'

She says all four judges are fiercely competitive. 'Having Cheryl as a new judge adds another element to their competition. They don't all know each other's tactics, so it's pretty dramatic.

'They take it very seriously. There can be tension, there can be tantrums, there can be tears, but it's not all the time. They're all grown-ups and most of the time that's Simon and Louis (Walsh) to be honest. But off-stage, it's actually quite friendly.

'I would love to be a judge. I tell Simon every year, I drive him nuts. He says: "So you want to get rid of Louis, or you want Dannii's job, do you?" I say no, I want his job.'

What about Dannii Minogue? She seems to be under siege from the other judges.

'Dannii's only recently got herself into a state about things. She won last year, and had both of her boys in the final. Of course she was going to be under attack - she was the one to beat.

'She'd been the big mouth, saying: "I am retaining my X-Factor crown, I will be winning again this year." When you're that cocky, people believe it.'

What does she think of Cheryl Cole? 'Cheryl is an absolute sweetheart. It's hard to step into a show like that, but she's really settled in well. She's a very warm person, easy to get on with.'

Do Cheryl and Dannii get on? Sinitta is diplomatic. 'They get along, but you know what it's like - everyone has their own friends, and their own kind of posse, so it's not a situation where you have the four judges backstage and they need each other.'

Sinitta didn't get to meet Britney when she appeared the show two Saturdays ago. 'The bodyguards blocked off all the corridors so no one could see or be near her,' says Sinitta.

Britney refused the Winnebago and demanded Simon's dressing room. 'He [Simon] loves it. He has this wry smile that says, OK. Whatever drama or nonsense there is, we love it. We say: "This is going to be something else we can talk about when we're 60!"

'He's the host; he's going to give the guests what they want. Afterwards, he told me that Britney's a real star - she had a real presence. He also said she was in awe of him - but he says that about everyone.'

Sinitta met X-Factor winner Leona Lewis again when she appeared. 'She was so sweet, even though she's gone on and had tremendous success. She was almost quite shy and timid.'

Who does she rate on this series? 'I love Alexandra. I think she's in a different league. But saying that, I can see the appeal in all of them.'

The X-Factor dominates everything at the moment, but Sinitta is planning to write a book about her life and record a new album.

She also recently teamed up with LeapFrog Toys to launch the Tag Love to Read programme, a schools literacy initiative to encourage children to develop a passion for reading.

It has been a year of high drama and, by the end of it, Sinitta will need a long rest. And Simon Cowell's villa in Barbados will be just the place for it.

Source: Daily Mail