Nicole Scherzinger has gotten quite close to Simon Cowell’s young son, Eric, and says he’s far more intelligent than she is.

The 38-year-old star has been spending time with the tot while on The X Factor and says he has quickly changed Simon Cowell’s firm persona. She now describes him as being much happier and the two spend less time arguing with one another on the show.

She told Britain’s Glamour magazine: “[Simon] has changed. He’s on the soft side. I find myself agreeing with him…that’s not normal.

Eric is so sweet, he speaks such proper English it cracks me up. I feel like his IQ is higher than mine. It’s great to see Simon so happy.”

While the singer is happy to be back as a judge in the UK, she was disappointed to have lost the role of C.J. Parker to actress Kelly Rohrbach in the upcoming Baywatch movie.

“I started this year working out every day, motivated to get my butt in shape because I was determined I was gonna be the new ‘Baywatch girl’. I was hell-bent, I’m an ocean angel, I love it.”

She then jokingly added: “What is my year, what is my life, if I’m not in ‘Baywatch’?!”

After an uncertain relationship with Lewis Hamilton, Nicole has moved on to tennis star Grigor Dimitrov and says the two are very happy.

“I am happy. I’m in a really good, solid, more balanced place in my life. I’ve grown a lot as a woman.

My grandma always used to say, to find the person you wanna marry, you have to find the person you wanna work on your relationship with for the rest of your life. That’s the key word: work.”