Simon Cowell has taken his own sweet time to absorb the news of his becoming a dad. After a recent "no comments" mode he was in, since the time the sensational news broke, the reality television mogul has finally admitted that he is "proud to be a dad."

"I'm proud to be a dad," the 53-year-old "X-Factor" judge told BBC news.

"It's something I hadn't thought of before, but now I know I feel good about it," the proud daddy Cowell added.

The actor broke the silence about the issue at the London premiere of "One Direction: This Is Us" and also went to praise the would-be-mommy Lauren Silverman.

"Things are changing in my life right now, for the better. She [Lauren]'s a very special girl," Cowell admitted finally after a long hiatus.

The media went into frenzy when the news about Cowell expecting the child with 36-year-old New York socialite Lauren Silverman broke some time back. Both Silverman and Cowell remained mum about the issue and did not speak to the media about the baby news.

Earlier this month the "proud" father refused to comment on the news at an "X Factor" press conference in Los Angeles saying he hasn't read the papers.

"I haven't read the newspapers," he told reporters. "Did I miss anything?"

The 53-year-old father-to-be allegedly had an affair with Lauren Silverman, his friend Andrew Silverman 's wife, who was in the process of divorce then. The trio has been spotted together relaxing and holidaying. However, it was later revealed that Cowell has been named by Andrew Silverman as a co-respondent in his divorce petition, alleging adultery.

The divorce has now been settled and Lauren is said to have won half her $4million pre-nuptial. The socialite already has a 7-year-old son from previous relationship. Cowell's most recent relationship was with fellow "X Factor" USA judge Carmen Electra.

Now that Cowell has confessed to being a "proud dad," do we see wedding-bells in future for the eternal bachelor? Let's wait and watch.

Here is the BBC video of Cowell admitting the fact