Meet the “AGT” Season 21 Judges’ Real-Life Partners
Meet the “AGT” Season 21 Judges’ Real-Life Partners
Francesca GarianoTue, June 2, 2026 at 9:31 PM UTC
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Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman on December 9, 2025 in London, England. ; Howie Mandel and Terry Mandel on May 2, 2008 in Century City, California
Credit: Dave Benett/Getty; Michael Caulfield/WireImage
Fans of America’s Got Talentget to enjoy the stories behind the contestants on-screen, while the show’s judges have backstories of their own, including their relationships and families.
AGT season 21— which premiered on NBC on June 2 — will feature a fresh round of competitors who will face off against one another to claim the winning spot. It will also welcome back host Terry Crews and fan favorite judges Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Sofia Vergara and Melanie “Mel B” Brown.
Cowell has been a judge on America’s Got Talent since the show’s inaugural season in 2006. Mandel joined in 2010 for season 5 of the series, while Vergara was cast for season 15 in 2020. Brown previously starred on the competition show from 2013 to to 2018, before returning in 2025, replacing Heidi Klum.
While the star-studded judging panel spots talent from across the country, they are also dedicated to their personal relationships off-screen. Mandel has been married to his wife, Terry Mandel, for more than 40 years, while Brown is nearly a year into her July 2025 marriage to Rory McPhee.
Here’s everything to know about the real-life partners of the America’s Got Talent season 21judges.
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Simon Cowell and Lauren Cowell
Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman on November 12, 2019 in London, England
Credit: Jeff Spicer/Getty
Cowell has been dating his fiancée, Lauren Cowell, for over a decade.
The couple first met in 2004 and remained friends over the years while in separate relationships. However, after being linked in May 2012, their romance became public in July 2013, with the news that they were having a baby.
Cowell and Lauren later welcomed their son, Eric Philip Cowell, in February 2014, named after the judge’s late father.
They took their next step in their relationship several years later, after nearly a decade together. Cowell proposed to Lauren in December 2021 while on a family vacation during the holidays.
The pair have been engaged ever since, with Cowell telling The Sunin April 2022 that he would be “planning it all” when it came to their nuptials.
While they aren’t officially married yet, Lauren changed her last name to Cowell in December 2025. At the time, she told the Daily Mail, “Look, I am Mrs. Cowell. I have created a life with Simon. We have a child together. We have a solid relationship.”
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Howie Mandel and Terry Mandel
Howie Mandel and Terry Mandel on September 4, 2008 in Hollywood, California
Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Mandel has been married to his wife Terry for over four decades.
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The couple first crossed paths when they were teenagers in high school in Canada. Howie told Streets of Toronto in March 2023 that they met in the line buying french fries.
Their eventual proposal had a food-theme as well, with Mandel popping the question at a deli. They later married in March 1980 in their hometown of Toronto. During the course of their decades-long marriage, Mandel and Terry have welcomed three children.
Speaking to PEOPLE in September 2023, the comedian shared his secret to his four-decade long marriage. At the time, he joked, “My wife doesn't speak or understand a word of English, so that's what works for us. I don't know how to say 'I am funny' in her language, but it works for us.”
“Communication is overrated,” he added. “I've been married for 43 years and we haven't said a word to each other.”
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Sofia Vergara
Sofia Vergara on September 28, 2023 in New York City
Credit: Taylor Hill/WireImage
Vergara appears to be single, but was previously married twice.
The Modern Familystar first wed her high school sweetheart, Joe Gonzalez. During their relationship, they welcomed son Manolo Gonzalez in 1991 when she was 18. Vergara and Gonzalez eventually split two years later.
Vergara later married to actor Joe Manganiello. After meeting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in May 2014, they began dating the following month and got engaged in December 2014. The couple wed in November 2015, but after seven years of marriage, they announced their split in July 2023.
Following her split with Manganiello, Vergara began dating Justin Saliman, an orthopedic surgeon. They have since broken up, with Vergara telling Access Hollywood in January 2025 that she was manifesting a boyfriend in the new year.
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Mel B and Rory McPhee
Mel B and Rory McPhee
Credit: Mel B/Instagram
Brown began dating her now husband, hair stylist McPhee, in 2019. The pair got engaged in 2022 and got married in July 2025.
The couple exchanged vows at a celebrity studded wedding in London, with former Spice Girls member Emma Bunton in attendance. Brown and McPhee had a second wedding the following month in August 2025 in Morocco.
Despite their two wedding celebrations, Brown said she was candid with McPhee about not wanting to get married again. Ahead of her wedding, Brown spoke to PEOPLE in March 2024 about her pending nuptials to McPhee, who she knew for years through family.
“He was just there patiently waiting, always there to give me a hair treatment, always there to talk," she said of how their relationship started. "He’s a great listener. And he just became more and more of a friend, and more and more important in my life.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
