After a career of developing reality shows, Simon Cowell's next one could be about himself: Simon & Son.

Well, something to that effect, depending on whether the 53-year-old British TV and music mogul's baby mama, US socialite Lauren Silverman, gives birth to a boy or girl next February.

According to The Daily Mail, Silverman, 36, has demanded marriage and a reality show from the chief judge of reality TV singing series The X Factor because she's carrying his baby.

Just like the rest of the world, Cowell, nicknamed Mr Nasty for his sometimes cruel critiques, was shocked to find out this week that he's becoming a dad.

If that wasn't surprising enough, it then came to light that Silverman, 36, is still married to Cowell's good friend, New York property tycoon Andrew Silverman, with whom she has a sevenyear- old son.

On Thursday, The New York Daily News reported a source saying that Cowell had "assumed (she) was using birth control" and that the pregnancy has "taken him by surprise".

To his credit, he has not gone into hiding.

He appeared for a scheduled The X Factor panel discussion on Thursday, alongside returning judge Demi Lovato and new hires Paulina Rubio and Kelly Rowland.

Although he initially tried to avoid questions about the baby with a joke ("I haven't read the newspapers"), he later told People magazine: "There are a lot of things I will eventually clear up when the time is right, but I really have to be sensitive because there's a lot of people's feelings involved here."

The slighted husband has reportedly filed divorce papers in New York, naming Cowell as the third party in the marriage.

On Thursday, he also issued a statement, saying: "My top priority is protecting my seven-year-old son while working to resolve all outstanding issues with my wife."

Happiest person in this situation?

Probably Mrs Silverman, who is reportedly 10 weeks pregnant. She was photographed with a very slight baby bump, smiling outside her family home in Bridgehampton, New York,with her son on the same day that her husband released his statement.

She's been called a gold-digger, thanks to the fact that Cowell and his media empire, which includes his reality show finds Susan Boyle and One Direction, is apparently worth a whopping US$320 million (S$408 million).

She released a statement asking for "space and privacy", although we're not sure how that fits in with her alleged demands for a reality show.

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