Simon Cowell reveals his heartbreak that childhood nanny, 78, is suffering with dementia... two years after devastating loss of his own mother

Published: 12:32 GMT, 18 December 2017 | Updated: 08:49 GMT, 19 December 2017

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He previously confessed that he didn't know his own mother until he was four, because of the close care he received from nannies as a child.

And Simon Cowell has been left heartbroken by the news that his 'Nanny Heather' - who looked after him from birth - is now suffering from dementia, two years after his beloved mother Julie passed away.

Father-of-one Simon, 58, is said to be 'really concerned' about the 78-year-old who is 'not a well woman,' her own carer said this weekend.

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Sad news: Simon Cowell (pictured here with girlfriend Lauren Silverman and son Eric) says he is 'heartbroken' by the news that his former nanny Heather is suffering with dementia

Simon told The Mirror: 'We had a bond when she was my nanny, she's an incredible person. It's heartbreaking she's going through this.'

Heather cared for Simon and his two brothers Tony and Nicholas for around five years from the age of 20.

He went on to say: 'My mum and dad adored Heather. In later years we met up and would exchange cards and pictures.

'My every memory of her as a child was she was the sweetest, most kind person you could ever meet.'

Dementia is a progressive condition neurological disorder associated with memory loss, but it can also affect communication and cognitive ability in some cases.

Simon called Heather over the weekend to wish her a happy birthday but was told her health was getting worse, and her eyesight and hearing were failing.

It has been well-documented that Simon has remained in touch with his Nanny Heather, who is said to still call Simon 'my boy' despite moments of 'lucidity'.

Devastating loss: Simon was distraught about the loss of his own mother Julie in 2015 (here in 2002)

Simon, who now has his own three-year-old son Eric, briefly spoke about his nanny with Jimmy Kimmel in 2013, saying he expected the nanny he hired for his son Eric to change the nappies.

'I was brought up by nannies,' Simon confessed. 'I didn't recognise my mum until I was about three or four. I had nannies instead, British nannies.'

He went on to say, 'One of them I'm still in contact with now. Nanny Heather.'

X Factor judge Simon was distraught when his mother Julie Cowell passed away in July 2015.

Mrs Cowell died aged 89 after suffering a stroke and her son insisted on cancelling the first round of auditions for the current series of his ITV talent show.

In a moving interview with The Mail on Sunday’s Event magazine last week, he spoke about the devastating impact of losing her.

Helping hand: Simon (far right) said he didn't know his own mother (centre, with husband Eirc Cowell) until he was four because brothers Nicholas (left) and Tony (front, centre) were looked after by nannies

Cowell, 56, recalled how he refused to face up to the inevitable when doctors said his mother had only months to live.

He said: ‘I wouldn’t listen. I kept saying right to the end that there was hope. And I wasn’t prepared for it. You know, it all happened in my 50s. I have a son and then I lost my mother. It changes you. I’m still going through it.’

Friends said it was one of the great joys of Mrs Cowell’s life to see her son start a family with his American partner, 38-year-old socialite Lauren Silverman.

Following her style of parenting, shortly after Eric was born, Simon was said to have hired a top £200,000-a-year nanny for Eric.

Afterwards, he added: ‘I feed Eric, I talk to him and play with him, but I don’t think dads do changing nappies. I’ll leave that up to the nanny.’