Despite working on American Idol together for nine seasons, Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest are no longer close.
Simon was a judge on the iconic singing contest from its 2002 premiere until his exit following Season 9 in 2010. Though he professed to enjoy his time on AI, Simon left to launch his own creation, The X Factor.
The new show would allow him more creative control than he enjoyed on Idol. It also wouldn’t restrict contestants by age, as Idol did. In fact, Simon often got credit for the discovery of the late Liam Payne and the subsequent formation of the boy band One Direction.
Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest “rarely” talk after he left American Idol
In a New York Times interview, Ryan’s name came up as Simon was talking about his time on Idol. Although he claimed he’s not exactly sure why the busy television host and producer is still so popular, he admitted, “He does work hard.”
“He was very, very ambitious,” the record executive added. “I didn’t follow his career, so I don’t know what he’s done. We rarely talk now.”
He does, however, recall Ryan’s driving ambition when he was on AI. “He was very steely about his career — wanting to be famous,” the America’s Got Talent judge/executive producer observed. “This massive, massive desire about being, you know, very famous.”
After 23 seasons, Ryan remains the host of American Idol, which returns January 26, 2026, for its 24th season. In addition to his Idol job, Ryan also hosts Wheel of Fortune and Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, as well as his long-running radio show, On Air with Ryan Seacrest.
He was also the executive producer of not only the very successful Keeping Up With the Kardashians, but also the current Hulu series, The Kardashians.
“I miss Simon,” Ryan told Ellen DeGeneres back in 2017. “He’s a lot of fun to work with.”
TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED SIMON AND RYAN DON’T KEEP IN TOUCH?
This story originally appeared on Realitytea
