Simon Cowell appears "at ease" on his New Year's holiday.

Simon, who is engaged to make-up artist Mezhgan Hussainy, is spending the weekend with his mother and ex-girlfriend singer Sinitta in the Caribbean.

The 52-year-old music mogul flew into Barbados on Christmas Day.

This week Simon was seen at a charity function leading his 86-year-old mother Julie around a sumptuous buffet.

"He spent the party afterwards shepherding his mum to the Caribbean buffet of curried goat, roti, rice and peas and lots of rum punch, which then led to lots of grandad-style dancing to Calypso on the dancefloor," an onlooker told British newspaper The Mirror. "Nobody asked Simon where Mezhgan was. He just looked comfortable."

Simon had a great time with Sinitta and his mother.

"Simon had never looked so at ease with his best girls by his side," the source continued. "His mum was his perfect date. And when he wasn't with mum, he engaged in a little harmless flirting with Sinitta. But with the amount of time Simon was spending with Sinitta, everyone was joking why the two of them weren't a couple."

Simon and Mezhgan decided to celebrate Christmas separately this year. Their relationship has been reportedly strained by the X Factor judge's professional stresses.