Lauren Silverman has revealed why she let her 12-year-old son Eric have a phone again, after initially banning him from having one. The mother-of-two, who shares Eric with music mogul Simon Cowell, 66, said she changed her mind when she discovered he had secretly downloaded Snapchat on her phone.
In an Instagram post, Silverman explained that she and Cowell had been firm about not giving Eric a phone, but after an honest conversation with him, they reconsidered. 'He now has a phone with some very clear boundaries. The main one being, no social media. Just texting and calling friends and family,' she wrote.
Silverman said that finding Eric messaging friends on Snapchat from her phone made her stop and think. 'Instead of turning it into a battle, we talked. What he told me was actually very simple. He didn't care about social media. He just wanted to be able to text and call his friends,' she explained.
The couple agreed to a compromise where Eric could have a phone for texting and calling but not social media. Silverman cited the 'pressure, comparison, and toxicity' of social media as reasons for the ban. She has also banned Eric from using his phone in his bedroom, at the dinner table, or during family time.
Cowell gave up using a phone in 2018 to improve his mental health, saying it made him more focused and happier. The family now lives in the Cotswolds after moving from west London.
