Abdul on Children, Love and 'Hey Paula'

Oct. 1, 2007 — -- After mothering thousands of hopefuls on Fox's American Idol, which returns for its seventh season in January, Paula Abdul is ready for a baby of her own.

"That's the next step in my life," says Abdul, 45, back in Los Angeles in between Idol auditions that have taken her to Philadelphia, Miami, San Diego, Charleston, S.C., Atlanta and Omaha. "Definitely within the next two years. I thought by now I'd have three grown children."

She says she plans to explore fertility options. "With modern medicine, people are having kids in their 40s and even up until their late 40s," she says. "In their 50s, they're having their second child.

"If it doesn't happen naturally like that, I would always consider adopting."

Her life has already been enriched by her boyfriend of more than five months, J.T. Torregiani.

"He's a sweetie pie," she says, looking at him across the lobby of the Renaissance Hotel. "He's a positive force that has come into my life right now. Where it leads, who knows? Like Simon (Cowell, her fellow Idol judge) says, 'He's a great, normal guy -- why does he like you?' "

Torregiani later offers his business card, which lists him as a partner in The Dolce Group, which operates the trendy L.A. restaurants Dolce, Geisha House, Les Deux, Bella, Ketchup and Ten Pin Alley. He is working with Eva Longoria on a Tex-Mex restaurant.

The 32-year-old Sicilian introduced himself to Abdul in April at the Roosevelt after an Idol taping. They spoke for four hours and began dating while the last season of Idol was winding down.

"I was so adamant about not letting Simon or Randy (Jackson) or Ryan (Seacrest) know -- and that was a good thing," says Abdul, who was married briefly in the mid-'90s to Emilio Estevez and then Brad Beckerman.

Now that some time has passed, she has grown more comfortable introducing Torregiani to friends. She traveled with him to London over the summer, and they met up with Cowell. And they are planning a trip to Italy during the months between Idol's current auditions and the semifinalist callbacks.