Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
McKenna: I can’t get my pal Cowell to quit smoking
Hypnotism efforts have gone ashtray
LIFE coach Paul McKenna has told how close pal Simon Cowell has given up on hypnotism as a way to quit smoking – so he helps him unwind by playing Twister instead.
XFactor boss Simon, 59, has tried hypnotherapy more than once but admitted he failed hands-down.
And Paul, who has sold millions of self-help books, says he knows the music mogul too well to even try persuading him to kick the habit – because he does not really want to quit.
Paul, 55, said: “Simon will do what he wants to do and I haven’t given him any hypnotherapy to stop.
“My take on smoking is, if someone wants to smoke then it’s a lifestyle choice – the last thing I want to do is to lecture people on these things.
“Simon hasn’t asked for my help to quit, I think he’s quite happy as he is.”
VAPING
Pop guru Simon has managed to slash his habit from the 80 a day he used to smoke, taking up vaping two years ago for the sake of his son, Eric.
And he cut down again after low blood pressure led to a fall at his home in 2017, when he ended up in hospital.
But he admitted: “If I tried to cut out cigarettes completely I’d have a real problem – too boring.”
Simon and Paul have been close friends for a number of years. Simon was best man at Paul’s wedding and the pair often holiday together in the Caribbean.
But Paul says their time as regulars on the party scene, enjoying late nights in some of London’s exclusive clubs, are definitely behind them.
He said: “Simon and I don’t go out any more, we prefer to stay in and play board games. We love Twister or Balderdash. We sit and tell each other embarrassing anecdotes, then fall about laughing.”
Rather than go out partying, Paul says he now prefers to have his celeb pals round for dinner. “I don’t really go to nightclubs any more, I have become old,” he said on his The Positivity Podcast.
“About three years ago Simon and I were in a club VIP section drinking champagne and the music was so loud – all I could think was, ‘I can’t wait for this bloody place to close.’ All I wanted was to have a glass of red wine and a conversation.
“Back in the day, Annabel’s would have been a nightly stop for me. I’ve not even been since it had a revamp.
“We love to have dinner parties, I talk to anyone about anything. Only the other night at a dinner party Robbie Williams was opposite me, we sat talking about flying saucers.”
Seeing Simon find love with partner Lauren Silverman and become a father inspired Paul to finally settle down too.
At 53, he married long-term personal assistant Kate Davey, who he has known for 20 years – after using a spreadsheet to find his soulmate. “I worked out the pros and cons of the women I liked and it spiked with Kate,” he said.
“She is so wonderful. Simon was over the moon when I told him I was settling down, he knows how much being with Lauren and becoming a dad has changed his life for the better.
“He loves his son Eric very much and he and Lauren are very happy.” But Paul rules out starting his own family to give Eric, four, a play-pal, saying: “We have a Great Dane, that’s our child.”
While Paul has helped thousands improve themselves, he says he is still “a work in progress”. He said: “You have challenges. But I’m in a better place than I’ve been in a long time.”
We were in a club, the music was so loud… I just wanted wine & chat PAUL McKENNA ON END OF PALS’ CLUBBING DAYS