Simon Cowell's first love calls in to live TV show

Former neighbour Tara McDonald-Smith recalls their snog

Tuesday, 6 May 2008

Simon Cowell was left red-faced when the women he shared his first kiss with phoned in to speak to him during a US TV show.

Former neighbour Tara McDonald-Smith revealed to viewers of American Idol that she snogged him when he was just 9 years old – at the bottom of his garden in Radlett, Herts.

'You say that some performances are really forgettable, so which of these two was the most memorable: your kiss with Paula Abdul or your first kiss with me at the bottom of your garden when you were 9?' Tara, 46, asked.

'It's OK. I've had a lot of therapy. I'm doing very well,' she joked.

Gobsmacked Simon, 48, seemed happy to catch up with his first love. 'Tara Miller, is that you? This literally was my first kiss – this was my first crush.'

Tara says the phone call brought back old memories.

'It was brilliant talking to him,' she tells the Daily Mirror. 'I couldn't believe I finally got to talk to him after all this time.

'He mentioned in an article a couple years ago that I was his first kiss. I tried to reach him after that but I didn't know how.

'Then someone gave me a number for the show. It was a lot of fun.'

And of the kiss she says: 'I just remember it was very sweet and very cute.'