We hear [Lauren Silverman] begged Cowell to be photographed with her publicly when the duo took a romantic trip to the South of France in August. Silverman, a snitch tells us, wanted to prove the pair are a happy couple and is desperate to shed her gold-digger image.

"Lauren doesn't like it when you guys write she is a gold-digger, so she got Simon to arrange for all these photos where he appears to be really into her," said a source close to Cowell. "Haven't you noticed it has been a PDA overload? It is a sham. It works for Simon, though, as he doesn't want people thinking he is this playboy who isn't going to be a good dad."