Simon Cowell Recently Dumped by His Girlfriend

Simon Cowell, American Idol judge and one of the brightest minds in music and reality show development, was recently dumped by his girlfriend.

The judge was broken up with, by phone, by his longtime girlfriend, Terri Seymour, according to a source who recently talked to People.

"Terri phoned Simon and finished it in September, about six weeks ago," says Max Clifford. "They are going to remain close friends. Simon thinks the world of Terri and that isn't going to change. He also understands her reason for ending it."

The couple began dating in 2002 after Seymour interviewed Cowell for a television show.

The former model recently told friends, "We've split up. It's very sad but we decided to go our separate ways. It just wasn't working out between us."