Simon Cowell had the special role of walking former X Factor contestant Lucy Spraggan down the aisle at her wedding.
The British television personality, 64, was “quite nervous” when he walked the 32-year-old musician down the aisle during her wedding to photographer Emilia Smith. In an interview with Hello, Cowell admitted he was overcome with emotion during the nuptials.
“I was very honored to be asked to walk Lucy down the aisle,” the X Factor creator told the outlet on June 23. “I considered it a very big deal. As soon as she asked me, I said yes. On the day I was actually quite nervous because l’ve never been asked before, and then very proud and happy and emotional.”
The former American Idol host went on to detail his relationship with Spraggan, which began after she appeared on The X Factor in 2012. While competing on the ITV talent show, Spraggan, then 20, left the show after week three because she was raped by a hotel porter. In 2013, the hotel porter pled guilty to the attack and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The singer later opened up about the traumatic experience in her 2023 memoir, Process: Finding My Way Through.
According to Hello, Cowell reconnected with Spraggan last year following the release of her memoir. The pair soon became close and he signed Spraggan to his Syco publishing label. She reportedly asked Cowell to give her away during a trip to his home in Barbados.
“The best way of describing our relationship is that it feels like we’ve been friends for life,” the music mogul continued. “Being asked to walk her down the aisle made me realize the significance and importance of that role. And throughout the day, I was thinking even though it’s been a relatively short time, we do feel like family, and we share a very special bond.”
Spraggan and Smith, who had been friends for 10 years before they started dating last November, tied the knot over the weekend at Saltmarshe Hall, a historic country hotel in East Yorkshire. The “Last Night” singer wore a custom King and Allen white three-piece suit, while Smith donned a strapless white gown from the Australian label Chosen by Kyha.
Cowell – who shares 10-year-old son Eric with fiancée Lauren Silverman – explained that he got to know the couple better as they spent “quite a lot of time with me and my family.”
“You can see they are true soul mates,” he added. “The way they looked at each other during the ceremony and the whole day, was the true definition of happiness and love.”
Among the guests at the wedding were Cowell’s partner Silverman, actor Tom Turgoose, RuPaul’s Drag Race star Bimini Bon-Boulash, and reality TV star Adam Collard. Following the ceremony, Spraggan changed into a white bikini and jumped into an ice bath. The newlyweds also booked a tarot card reader and a tattoo artist, who inked the date of their wedding onto each of their wrists.
While the musician is estranged from her father, she explained to Hello that Cowell has become an important father figure for her over the years. “Everything people get from their fathers I get from Simon,” she said. “He’s a constant support and he and Lauren constantly check in and make sure I’m okay.”
Meanwhile, the America’s Got Talent judge said the nuptials were “a really happy occasion” and he is “absolutely thrilled” for Spraggan and Smith.
In April, the singer announced her engagement to Smith in a post shared to Instagram. That same month, she revealed that Cowell will be walking her down the aisle during the June ceremony. Speaking to Fabulous Magazine at the time, Spraggan said that Cowell was the first person from The X Factor to offer her comfort after her sexual assault.
“And he called me, and I picked up the phone. And he said: ‘Lucy, before you or I say anything else, the first thing I need to tell you is that I’m sorry.’ It makes me emotional now… because no one else said sorry,” Spraggan said. “He wasn’t even on my year, he wasn’t even a judge. And he still as a human being gave me everything that I needed in two words.”
RAINN is the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the United States. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, help is available. RAINN offers confidential 24/7 support at the National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1 (800) 656-4673.
