It's been two years since Simon Cowell joined a fleet of celebrities in the Cotswolds, uprooting his former life in London to escape to the country with his fiancée Lauren Silverman and their son, Eric.
In a bid for more privacy, the Britain's Got Talent judge traded his £45 million Holland Park townhouse for a sprawling £8 million country bolthole in 2022, but has refrained from sharing any photographs of the property.
On Monday, however, the X Factor frontman filmed a video from the garden of his previously-unseen family home - and it's like something out of a fairytale.
In the clip, Simon thanked fans for his birthday wishes as he turned 65. "I'm now at an age when you say how old you are, people clap and that's depressing," he mused.
"However, I'm alive, I'm healthy, I'm happy and thank you everyone for your kind messages," said the father-of-one.
© Instagram / @simoncowellThe music mogul filmed himself underneath a pergola woven with trailing vines, opening out to a paved outdoor area brought to life with several potted shrubs and trees.
In the background, Simon's sizeable red brick home was reminiscent of a doll's house, complete with a romantic Juliet balcony laden with topiary plants that wouldn't look out of place in an Alice in Wonderland scene.
© Brian Jannsen / Alamy Stock PhotoWhite French doors in the beautiful home opened out to reveal a large, twelve-seater dining table beneath the whimsical pergola - which was shielded from the autumn weather with a waterproof cover.
Simon Cowell's escape to the country
After sharing his Holland Park postcode with the Beckhams, Sir Elton John, Sir Richard Branson and more mega-rich celebrities, Simon uprooted his life in London after he was burgled by a group of criminals who stole passports and more than £1 million worth of jewellery.
The crime took place in 2015 when he, Lauren and Eric, who was a baby at the time, were asleep in the house.
© InstagramThe horrifying event naturally traumatised the family and they bid farewell to the capital last year, with Simon claiming he "no longer feels safe."
"I was in total shock," his impact statement read. "The fact that it is possible for a person to obtain the software code to sell to someone — so they could rob the house my family lives in — is disgusting. To even consider doing this is dangerous and reckless."
