Abdul says she and Cowell have a 'fun relationship'

Paula Abdul says she and Simon Cowell, who torments her on the set of "American Idol," are chummy in real life.

"Simon and I actually get along great," the 44-year-old "Idol" judge says in an interview in TV Guide magazine's March 19 issue. "We have cultivated a fun relationship. ... He's actually become a really good friend."

Were they at first attracted to one another, as Cowell has suggested?

"Oh, puh-leez! He makes this stuff up," Abdul says. "He said, 'Paula, people want us to hook up so bad.' I said, 'That's disgusting.' He goes, 'Paula, I know you want me,' and I go, 'Like a cold sore.' We have fun playing up the chemistry, but there's also times when I would cross the other side of the street so I wouldn't have to look at him."