Robbie Williams has revealed he was intimidated by media mogul Simon Cowell after meeting him in the nineties when his band Take That was starting out. The Angels singer said his fear of Simon has stayed with him for the past 25 years after Simon refused to sign the boy band. "I was terrified by him and really interested in him as a person," Robbie told the Daily Star.
"I first met him in 1993 at the BMG offices, Take That had just been signed to BMG and Simon had a little office in the corner. He was an incredibly interesting guy who I was scared of. He had a chance to sign Take That and he passed on it."
Robbie, Ayda, Louis and Simon are this year's X Factor judges
Now, Robbie and Simon are good friends, and the Feel singer appears as a new judge on The X Factor alongside his wife Ayda Field and the head honcho himself. Describing Simon as a "genius," Robbie added: "Everybody talks about him being the dark lord of the music industry, but the more I know him, the more I love him. I'm learning a lot of life lessons, a lot of showbusiness lessons. He does things a lot differently to how I do. I've always loved him even though I didn't know him that well. I love him even more now."
MORE: David and Victoria Beckham enjoy romantic date night with £1,390 wine
Robbie and fellow judge Louis Tomlinson showed their dedication to the show by having matching tattoos of 'X' symbols inked onto their arms earlier this week. Louis has The X Factor to thank for his success, after he starred on the show as one fifth of boy band One Direction.
Robbie welcomed his third child in September
While fans are enjoying seeing Robbie and his wife Ayda on screen, the couple have also been making headlines of late for their family life. The couple welcomed their third child, a baby girl, via surrogate at the beginning of September and made the surprise announcement on Instagram. "So we have been keeping a very special secret! We are delighted to share with you that we have had a baby girl… welcome to the world Colette (Coco) Josephine Williams!! It has been a very long and difficult path to get here, which is why we have kept it on the down low," Ayda explained.
MORE: Holly Willoughby just wore a brand that every royal woman loves
Robbie reveals his daughter is destined for showbiz:
The mum-of-three hosted a celebratory baby shower in Los Angeles earlier this week, attended by friends including TV presenter Terri Seymour. Terri couldn't resist sharing some photos from the event, including a large group of friends gathered around Ayda, who was cradling her tiny baby girl in her arms.
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.