Report revisits years of quiet tension between Simon Cowell and Celebrity Wheel of Fortune host Ryan Seacrest

A new round of comments from Simon Cowell has put a long-rumored chill with Celebrity Wheel of Fortune host Ryan Seacrest back under the microscope, with a recent report revisiting what insiders describe as years of quiet tension rather than a warm friendship.

In a late‑2025 interview tied to his Netflix docuseries Simon Cowell: The Next Act, Cowell was asked about Seacrest’s enduring success after American Idol and replied, 

“I can’t really answer that one. He does work hard.”

Pressed on how closely he has followed the Celebrity Wheel of Fortune host’s post‑Idol rise, Cowell added, 

“I didn’t follow his career, so I don’t know what he’s done. We rarely talk now.”​

Those remarks, including Cowell’s description of Seacrest as “very, very ambitious” and “very steely about his career — wanting to be famous,” have renewed attention on a professional pairing that began on American Idol in 2002 and has rarely intersected in public since Cowell’s exit in 2010.

In December 2025, PopCrush and a follow‑up coverage on Yahoo Entertainment reported that industry sources characterize the dynamic as “permanently frosty,” saying the two “tolerated each other for the show, but that’s where it stopped” and that “they rarely talk now.”

One insider summed up the pattern this way: 

“Simon pokes. Ryan avoids. And every few years, something sets it off again.”​

American Idol years and the path to Celebrity Wheel of Fortune

Cowell and Seacrest first shared a stage on Fox’s American Idol at its 2002 launch, with Cowell serving as the blunt British judge and Seacrest as host through the show’s original 15‑season run and its later ABC revival.

Their on‑air exchanges — Cowell’s cutting remarks, Seacrest’s quips and attempts to ease tension with contestants — became a defining part of Idol’s early identity, often framed to viewers as sharp but playful chemistry.

Behind the scenes, however, the new report and other coverage suggest the rapport was cooler than it looked, with sources telling outlets that “people think it was playful TV banter — but they just never liked each other.”​

Cowell left American Idol after season 9 in 2010 to launch The X Factor USA and later focus on Britain’s Got Talent and America’s Got Talent, while Seacrest stayed on as host and expanded his portfolio across radio, New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, and syndicated television.

In his 2025 comments, Cowell acknowledged that Idol “launched” Seacrest’s visibility but kept his praise measured, saying of the now‑Celebrity Wheel of Fortune host only, “He does work hard.”

He contrasted that with what he described as his own aim on talent shows: “All I wanted with these shows was to find successful artists to sign to the label,” explaining that in auditions he would quickly tell non‑singers, “‘You can’t sing.’”​

As Seacrest’s career widened, he moved into the game‑show space that Cowell’s formats helped dominate, but not via Cowell’s franchises.

In 2023, Sony Pictures Television announced that Seacrest would take over Wheel of Fortune hosting duties from Pat Sajak beginning in 2024, signing a multi‑year deal that also made him a consulting producer.

By 2025, he was fronting both Wheel of Fortune and Celebrity Wheel of Fortune alongside longtime letter‑turner Vanna White, who has spoken of “great” chemistry with Seacrest and called him “such a nice guy and so professional and hardworking.”

Coverage of his transition notes that Celebrity Wheel of Fortune now sits alongside Seacrest’s other high‑profile roles, including American Idol and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.​

Quiet distance, public professionalism, and where things stand now

Cowell’s late‑2025 remarks are not the first time he has downplayed closeness with the Celebrity Wheel of Fortune host, but they are among the most direct.

In an interview summarized by outlets including People, TV Insider, and Good Housekeeping, he said of Seacrest: “We rarely talk now,” repeating that he “didn’t follow his career” after leaving Idol.

He again underlined Seacrest’s drive, saying, “He was very, very ambitious,” and describing “this massive, massive desire about being, you know, very famous.”​

Reports revisiting their history emphasize that, despite the undercurrent of tension, there has been no public blow‑up between the two.

PopCrush, echoed by Yahoo’s aggregation, quotes one source as saying, 

“For twenty years, it’s been the same dance. Simon pokes. Ryan avoids. And every few years, something sets it off again.”

Another unnamed source said Cowell’s latest shade “didn’t reopen an old wound… because the wound never fully closed,” suggesting long‑term coolness rather than a single falling‑out.​

Seacrest, now visible daily as host of Wheel of Fortune and in primetime as host of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, has not publicly retaliated in kind.

Past interviews have seen him speak respectfully of Cowell’s role in shaping American Idol, and coverage in 2025 notes that he has focused comments on his current game‑show duties, his long tenure with Idol, and his other projects rather than the renewed feud narrative.

While Cowell continues to judge America’s Got Talent and promote Simon Cowell: The Next Act, and Seacrest settles into the Celebrity Wheel of Fortune studio with White, the two men’s careers now run on parallel tracks with minimal direct overlap.​

Stay tuned for more updates.