Simon Cowell has reflected on the 'hardest' period of his life in a new interview about his mental health.

The music mogul has recalled how the death of his beloved mother Julie in 2015 left him 'in pieces' and it was his son Eric, nine, who helped him come to terms with the loss.

Simon's mum died at the height of the businessman's X Factor fame, and 16 years after his father Eric, whom Simon's son is named after, passed away from a heart attack.

Julie suffered a stroke aged 89 just 24 hours before Simon was due to start filming for a new series of his hit show, and he was back at work three days after the loss.  

Speaking out: Simon Cowell has reflected on the 'hardest' period of his life in a new interview about his mental health - the death of his mother Julie in 2015 (pictured together in 2007)

Family: The music mogul has recalled how the death of his beloved mother Julie in 2015 left him 'in pieces' and it was his son Eric, nine, who helped him come to terms with the loss (pictured with Eric and his partner Lauren Silverman)

Speaking to The Mirror for their Men in Mind podcast, in association with the charity Mind, Simon reflected that 'it was really difficult. I'm in pieces but then I'm on TV. 

'There were moments afterwards where it was really, really hard. And of all the times in my life, that was the hardest because it was just total finality. My mum and dad had gone, that was it.' 

His mother had the chance to meet Eric before she died and Simon said his son saved him.  

'Eric in his own way was my therapy because obviously having him, I had a completely different outlook on life,' he explained. 'The minute he arrived, my priorities changed just like that.'

The star has also recently started therapy after a metamorphosis over the past few years which has seen him ditch his workaholic lifestyle and focus on family life and healthy living alongside Eric and his fiancée Lauren Silverman.

Explaining how Lauren supported his decision to seek therapy, Simon admitted his partner' saw the difference in about three or four weeks.' 

Simon  is now back on the America's Got Talent judging panel, and he admits to hoping son Eric will follow in his footsteps when the time is right. 

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, he admitted Eric is already learning the ropes when it comes to finding entertainers with promise.

'Trust me, he is in training,' the doting dad explained. 'He sits and watches the shows with me before they go out and I don't ask him, but I look at his reaction because kids don't lie.'

He continued: 'If they are bored, they are bored and if they are interested in something, they are... And that's really helped me actually. I hope he does what I do.'

However, it turns out the young child is far more eager to have his turn in the limelight as Simon added: 'He has said the dreaded words, "Daddy, can I audition for you? And I'm like, "Oh, No!"'

Eric would even be willing to share his success with others as his father revealed that the aspiring singer hopes to become part of a band one day.

'He wants to be in a band. He likes Green Day,' Simon laughed. 'So, I'm like, "We'll have this conversation later." He's going to do what he wants to do.'

Close: Simon's mum died at the height of the businessman's X Factor fame, and 16 years after his father Eric, whom Simon's son is named after, passed away from a heart attack (Simon's dad is pictured far right) 

Help: The star has also recently started therapy after a metamorphosis over the past few years which has seen him ditch his workaholic lifestyle

He made it clear that his son wouldn't ever receive any special treatment should he audition for his father.

In fact, Eric is guaranteed to receive the same tough criticism that helped Simon become a household name through his time judge talent on TV shows.

He explained: 'I've said to him, "If you are not good, you are not going on the show. And that means you've got to rehearse. Sorry, you have to take a lot of lessons, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah."

'He is like, "Okay." And then I think he lost interest, but I think he just, I don't know. He's just up for it for some reason. But if he's terrible, no, you won't see him on the show'.

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