Simon Cowell explains why his devastating bike accident ‘happened for a reason’

Just like “America’s Got Talent,” Simon Cowell keeps chugging along.

The famously critical judge from the hit NBC show broke his back in an accident while riding an electric bike in 2020, a moment that changed how he looks at things.

“It was painful, it wasn’t great,” he told TODAY’s Jason Kennedy in an interview with fellow “AGT” stars Howie Mandel, Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum and Terry Crews that aired May 17.

“However, I was so unfit before the accident. I didn’t know how unfit I was until I had to do all this stuff afterwards," he explained. “And I’m like, ‘My God.’ Things like that, I believe happened for a reason.”

One thing the accident didn’t change, though, was his desire to ride a bike.

“I’m still gonna stay on my bike,” he said. “I’m obsessed with these things.”

Cowell, 63, had to undergo a six-hour surgery following his accident. Still, Cowell was grateful that he avoided a worse fate.

“It could have been a lot worse. When I saw the X-ray, I really nearly smashed my spine to pieces, so I literally wouldn’t (have) been able to walk,” he told “Extra” in February 2021.

Cowell is now back and ready to go on the 18th season of “America’s Got Talent.” It will be the fourth season that he teams up with Crews, Mandel, Vergara and Klum. And while Cowell made his name being a no-nonsense judge of talent, he and his “AGT” co-stars all get along famously.

“When we say we are a family it does actually feel that way because we like each other,” he said.

You can catch Cowell and the rest of the gang when the new season of “America’s Got Talent” premieres May 30 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com