Simon Cowell won't watch his baby's birth

When Simon Cowell's baby is born, the "X Factor" judge won't be watching.

He'll be close by, as Cowell told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show Tuesday, but he's not interested in getting up close and personal with girlfriend Lauren Silverman when she delivers their first child together.

"I know it sounds awful, but it's a little like you don't want to go into the restaurant while they're making your dinner," Cowell explained. "I just think there are certain things you shouldn't see, and that is one of them. I'll be very close by, but ... no."

Don't take that as a sign that Cowell, 53, isn't excited about being a dad. Although he always thought he would never become a parent, now that a baby is on the way, he's warmed up to the idea. (Which, yeah, we guess he'd have to at this point.)

"I genuinely never thought (fatherhood) was going to happen," he told Seacrest. "I was scared of who I was going to have kids with, whether I would get along with them or not. ... (Lauren) and I get along really, really well. Once I got used to the idea, I thought, 'This is going to be really good.'"

And it sounds like Cowell is in for the long haul - potentially even marriage. "Let's put it this way," Cowell responded when asked if he'd ask Lauren to marry him. "I wouldn't expect her to be a single mother."