Simon Cowell: "Kids? I'd Rather Have a Terrapin"  10/23/05

The X Factor and American Idol acid-tongued judge Simon Cowell has refused to have a child with his long-term girlfriend, ordering her to buy a terrapin instead.

Cowell's model/TV presenter partner Terri Seymour is getting broodier by the day, but the hard-bitten music mogul is having none of it.

He says, "I told her to buy a terrapin because they can be affectionate and we'll have a little pet, but it didn't go down too well.

"I said to her, 'The problem is I'm 46 and you know what my work schedule is like. There is no place in my life now for a kid.'"