Former “X Factor” Star Lucy Spraggan Says Simon Cowell Will Be Walking Her Down the Aisle at Her Wedding

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The pair forged a close friendship following Spraggan's appearance on the British competition show in 2012

<p>Karwai Tang/WireImage; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic</p> From Left: Lucy Spraggan and Simon Cowell

Karwai Tang/WireImage; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic

From Left: Lucy Spraggan and Simon Cowell

Lucy Spraggan is recruiting her close friend, Simon Cowell, for a key role in her wedding.

The former X Factor star, 32, revealed in a new interview with Fabulous Magazine that she's asked Cowell, 64, to walk her down the aisle at her upcoming nuptials. Spraggan announced her engagement to partner Emilia Smith on Instagram on Sunday.

"We’d been staying at Simon and [his fiancée] Lauren [Silverman]’s house for a few days. One morning, Simon was about to get in the sea and I said, ‘Will you give me away?’ He replied: ‘Yeah!’ ” Spraggan recounted to the magazine, per the Independent.

“He went off for a swim and when he came back, he said, ‘I’d absolutely love to. It would be an honor,' " she continued.

Jeff Spicer/Getty From Left: Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman
Jeff Spicer/Getty From Left: Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman

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The singer-songwriter described the British TV personality and Silverman, 46, as being "like surrogate parents" to her. Spraggan and Cowell developed a close friendship after her appearance on The X Factor's ninth season in 2012.

“We’re all great friends. I care about them, they care about me, and Simon really cares about my life, my wellness and my music. Simon and Lauren feel like surrogate parents. They’re always looking out for me,” she told Fabulous in an excerpt from her interview posted on the magazine's Instagram page.

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<p>Ken McKay/Thames/Shutterstock </p> Lucy Spraggan performing in 2012

Ken McKay/Thames/Shutterstock

Lucy Spraggan performing in 2012

Spraggan's own Instagram post announcing her engagement to Smith featured a lengthy message reflecting on the pair's unexpected journey from longtime friends to romantic partners.

“'When you know you know' 💍. That’s [the] response we’ve heard the most over the last few weeks when Emilia & I have told our people that we are, in fact, getting married in June 😱🥹," Spraggan wrote. "That’s a phrase I really thought I understood throughout my life, that I believed I had a full appreciation of but… It wasn’t until I fell in love with my friend of 10 years that I truly felt it."

"@emiliakate__, who has quite literally been there all along 🌙," she continued, recalling how Smith would spend hours on the phone with her on her "darkest days," send her treats while she was writing her book Process: Finding My Way Through, go on long walks with her and talk about "everything and anything."

Related: 'X Factor' Star Tom Mann Reflects 1 Year Later on the 'Unbearable Pain' of Losing Fiancée on Wedding Day

<p>Lucy Spraggan/Instagram</p> Lucy Spraggan and Emilia Smith

Lucy Spraggan/Instagram

Lucy Spraggan and Emilia Smith

"I am so thankful that the universe gave me you, Emilia. I was immensely thankful when you were just my friend and I cannot begin to describe the gratitude I have to experience your love in a different way," she added. "I can’t wait to start life as a team. I can’t think of a better way to start a marriage than 10 years of friendship first."

Spraggan revealed to Fabulous that she and Smith had agreed — long before their relationship turned romantic — to marry each other if they were still single by the age of 40.

“Emilia and I were those friends who said, ‘If we’re not married by the time we’re 40, we’ll get married to each other,’ and somehow, this deep friendship opened up into attraction," she told the magazine, per Independent.

In a Valentine's Day post this year, Spraggan noted how she didn't expect to find love with Smith.

"Falling in love with my friend wasn’t on my agenda for 2023 but it happened and now it’s Valentine's 2024 and I’m going to use it as a VERY BIG EXCUSE to say how lucky I am," she wrote on Instagram, sharing a series of candid photos of the couple. "Can’t believe she fancies me, what a dream."

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