The love is still mighty between Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul.

Even though Cowell fired Paula from her judge post on X Factor (along with fellow judges Steve Jones and Nicole Scherzinger), he’s assured the public of his bond with his former American Idol cohort.

"You do develop friendships with the people you work with and Paula, in particular, is a very close friend and I expect to be working with her on another project in the near future."

No word yet on what project they will work on together or if the rumors of Mariah Carey joining X Factor are true.

BET.com is your #1 source for Black celebrity news, photos, exclusive videos and all the latest in the world of hip hop and R&B music.

(Photo:  Scott Kirkland/PictureGroup)