Simon Cowell: 'I had a blind date with Denise Richards'

Simon Cowell has revealed that he once dated Denise Richards.

In a recent interview, the X Factor judge told Howard Stern that he was once set up on a blind date with Charlie Sheen's ex-wife while she was pregnant, Us Weekly reports.

"She turned up 8 months pregnant and had a dog in her handbag," Cowell said of the encounter.

However, the 51-year-old went on to insist that the actress was attractive in spite of her condition.

When asked whether he found a pregnant Richards to be "a real turnoff", Cowell answered: "A little bit, but she is gorgeous. I liked her a lot, I think she's cute, funny, a bit of a wacko... but I like that."

He concluded: "She's a great girl."

Cowell recently invited estranged X Factor colleague Cheryl Cole out to dinner.

The two have reportedly become friends once again after suffering a very public falling out when Cole was axed from the US version of the show in June.

The X Factor USA's two-night premiere kicks off on Wednesday, September 21 and Thursday, September 22 at 8pm ET on Fox.