News broke Wednesday that Simon Cowell is facing impending fatherhood, via the wife -- they are still married -- of a (former?) close friend. On Thursday, TMZ learned of the divorce filing in the matter, and the "X Factor" creator is being accused of being a home-wrecker.
In the papers, Andrew Silverman alleges adultery against his wife, Lauren Silverman (New York is a no-fault divorce state, but Silverman is filing for "fault" based on adultery). In the Wednesday report, it was said that the Silvermans' marriage was on the rocks anyway -- but Lauren is 10 weeks pregnant, according to a source.
According to the New York Post, Andrew Silverman has known about this for some time. He filed the paperwork two weeks ago. Any suggestion that the Silverman's marriage was failing ahead of the adultery was faux, according to one of Laura's friends.
That friend said:
The Silvermans weren’t estranged. The suggestion that she was an estranged wife who fell into another man’s arms is not the case.
Instead, one friend called Lauren a "total gold digger." Andrew’s brother, Alexander, told The Post,
It is an unbelievable story of betrayal. It is a sad story and a tragic story.
Andrew, a real-estate mogul, had been so oblivious to the affair that he recently upgraded Lauren Silverman's engagement ring with a 10-karat diamond, another friend added.
One more friend chimed in with an accusation:
The pregnancy was by design.
In the filing, Lauren is listed as a defendant with Cowell listed as a co-respondent. The step Andrew Silverman took, naming Cowell as a co-respondent in the filing, was designed to embarrass Cowell, the Post report said.
The filing says:
The nature of this action is: to dissolve the marriage between the parties based upon (1) the commission of acts of adultery by the defendant and (2) defendant's cruel and inhuman treatment of the plaintiff.
In addition, Andrew Silverman is seeking sole custody of the couple's seven-year-old son, and wants a judge to approve the couple's pre-nuptial agreement that they signed in 2003.
