Making the most of his summertime vacation, Simon Cowell was spotted partying at club VIP in Saint Tropez last night (July 19) with a mystery female. Upon spotting the nosy paparazzo, the uber rich American Idol judge appeared to get startled.

Up until recently, Simon was dating 80s pop star Sinitta but it was spoilt by his cheating ways.

“On and off, because Simon was a horrible cheat!,” she tells The Sun. “He was a horrible cheat. He was always disappearing and stuff, you know, and I’d have to work and he’d almost be laughing as he waved me off on a plane to Japan, like: ‘Great, I’m going to have a really good time while you’re away’.”

Meanwhile, life isn’t so sunny for fellow Idol judge Paula Abdul. Her manager says her superstar client likely wouldn’t be returning to Fox’s hit talent reality show. “Very sadly, it does not appear that she’s going to be back on Idol,” David Sonenberg, Abdul’s manager, said when contacted about the judge’s contract negotiations. As of Friday afternoon, he didn’t even have a proposal for a new contract from FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment, which produce the show. There still may be some time for a deal to be sealed though so we’ll have to wait and see what really happens.

The strategy seems to be working. A “Keep Paula” movement erupted on Twitter over the weekend. And Paula’s been thanking fans non-stop.