Simon Cowell Rides Jet Ski 4 Months After Breaking His Back

Simon Cowell was spotted riding a jet ski this week, just a few months after breaking his back in [...]

Simon Cowell was spotted riding a jet ski this week, just a few months after breaking his back in a bike accident. The 61-year-old reality TV star seemed to be fully recovered in photos published by Entertainment Tonight, showing him driving across the water in Barbados with his girlfriend, Lauren Silverman.

Cowell has come a long way from the operating table in August, where he needed six hours of surgery to repair his spine. At the time, Cowell fell off an electric bike while riding it around his home's courtyard in Malibu, California. He needed a metal rod inserted into his back and fusion procedures, and even then, the recovery was expected to take months. However, he looked healthy and triumphant this week at Brandon's Beach and Rascal's Waterpark in Barbados.

Cowell was shirtless under an orange life vest as he captained the jet ski, with Silverman on the seat behind him. He seemed to smile at photographers for the photo-op, possibly knowing that his recovery would raise eyebrows.

Sources close to Cowell told ET in October that his recovery was well ahead of schedule. They said: "He's doing really well and is recovering well and ahead of what was expected. He's doing over 10000 steps a day as well as swimming to get his back strong and healed again. He no longer needs to wear a back brace all the time."

Cowell needed some time off from America's Got Talent immediately following the accident, and his co-stars were pleased to hear news of his quick recovery. Howie Mandel said: "He's had a six-hour operation and he is already on his feet, which is above and beyond expectation, so I am thrilled. I love the guy, I miss the guy, and my hearts and minds are with him and each and every moment."

In a post on Twitter back in August, Cowell described the bike he hurt himself on as "an electric trail bike," leaving many fans puzzled about what kind of vehicle he was talking about. Whatever it was, Cowell has now gotten his vengeance on small motor vehicles with this week's jet ski excursion.

Cowell and Silverman have been together since 2013 when they began seeing each other shortly before Silverman's divorce. They have one son together, 6-year-old Eric, and Silverman has another son from her previous marriage.

Cowell has been very open about his health in recent years, not just because of the electric bike accident but because of his switch to a vegan diet last year. At the time, Cowell said that he was changing his habits in the hope of living long into his son's adulthood. However, after his accident earlier this year, sources close to Cowell told The Sun that he was back to eating meat, for now, to "rebuild his strength."

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