Simon Cowell Calls 'AGT' Season 18 Winner 'A Bit of a Surprise' — But Says Son Eric Was 'Thrilled' (Exclusive)

The 'America's Got Talent' judge told PEOPLE that the unexpected finale outcome of Adrian Stoica and his dog Hurricane winning was "like a happy ending"

Warning: this story contains spoilers from the America's Got Talent season 18 finale.

The season 18 finale of America's Got Talent surprised plenty of people — including judge Simon Cowell!

After a nail-biting round of eliminations, Adrian Stoica and his dog Hurricane were crowned the winners of AGT in part two of the season finale on Wednesday night.

The trainer and his border collie proved to be a crowd-pleaser all the way from their audition — during which they performed various impressive tricks set to "Better When I'm Dancing" by Meghan Trainor — to their finale act set to Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love."

Speaking to PEOPLE backstage after the show, Cowell, 63, admitted that the season's outcome came as a "bit of a surprise" to him.

"You can't please everyone — there were people who were disappointed, people who were surprised, but it's a public vote, and their act last night was amazing," he said of Stoica and his pup. "So a bit of a surprise, but I'm happy. I would've been happy with anyone winning from last night, if I'm being honest with you."

Cowell explained that, after so many years in the business, he's grown "used to" being surprised by the results. In fact, he said, one of his favorite things about this season's champions is that they weren't expecting to win at all.

"The dog is so adorable," added the judge, who has three pups himself. "And I think that was pretty amazing. It was like a happy ending."

Related: Why Simon Cowell Hopes His Son Eric 'Never' Comes on 'America's Got Talent' (Exclusive)

Additionally, it was a bonus for him that his 9-year-old son, Eric — who was in the audience Wednesday night — was "thrilled" to see Stoica and Hurricane win. "We’re going to have a good car right back [home]," Cowell joked.

Eric wasn't the only one excited about this season's winner. Fellow judge Heidi Klum told PEOPLE she was "super happy" for the "adorable" duo.

"I'm super excited for them. [Stoica's] a really lovely man," she said. "Hurricane is super cute ... I loved that he did everything without treats. Because we've seen a lot of dog acts, and what they do is they always constantly feed little treats to the dog in order for them to do the next thing, or they yell at them to do different things. And it was just beautiful how Hurricane could just memorize all of the act without him prompting [her]."

"It was amazing — it was like an actor who really read the script and was able to do it all," Klum, 50, added. "It was very cute. I mean, how can it not be cute? It's a beautiful dog act."

Related: Meet the 11 Finalists of 'America's Got Talent' Season 18 (Exclusive)

Meanwhile, AGT host Terry Crews said "nothing" about the season 18 finale "went as expected." However, the television personality, 55, also revealed that he actually wasn't all that shocked by Stoica and Hurricane being crowned the winners.

"It's like, 'What?' But at the same time, I'm not surprised because America loves dogs," he told PEOPLE. "And Hurricane is one of the smartest, most amazing dogs since Lassie.  Even Simon said there should be a TV show [about Hurricane]. A movie. There should be everything."

As for Stoica, he said he simply feels "lucky" to get to spend this time with his faithful canine companion. Outside of AGT, the pair have performed all over the world together, and now that they have the title under their belt, he called their journey together "magical."

"I'm so happy," the Italian-born trainer, 45, told PEOPLE backstage after the show. "When you have quality time with your dog, it's the best thing in the world."

The duo were up against 10 other acts in the finale: magician Anna DeGuzman, synchronized dance group Murmuration, stand-up comedian Ahren Belisle, singer-musician Putri Ariani, head-balancing duo the Ramadhani Brothers, singer Lavender Darcangelo, dance group Chibi Unity, the Mzansi Youth Choir, the 82nd Airborne Division Chorus and the all-women Japanese dance group Avantgardey.

Related: 'America’s Got Talent' Announces New 'Fantasy League' Spinoff — and Mel B Is Returning to Judge!

During Wednesday's finale, the judges announced the top 5 acts as Stoica and Hurricane, the Ramadhani Brothers, Putri Ariani, Anna DeGuzman and Murmuration. Ultimately, the Ramadhani Brothers finished in fifth place, Ariani in fourth, Murmuration in third, and DeGuzman in second.

As the winners, Stoica and Hurricane walked away with a grand prize of $1 million and a headlining act as part of the America's Got Talent Presents Superstars Live show at the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

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Season 18 of America's Got Talent can be streamed in full on Hulu.

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