Her maternal drive is off idle

After mothering thousands of hopefuls on Fox’s “American Idol,” 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 new “Idol” auditions that have taken her across the country.

“Definitely within the next two years. I thought by now I’d have three grown children.”

Abdul 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 (fellow “Idol” judge) Simon (Cowell) says, ‘He’s a great, normal guy – why does he like you?’ “

Torregiani is a partner in The Dolce Group, which operates several trendy L.A. eateries, and is working with Eva Longoria (“Desperate Housewives”) on a Tex-Mex restaurant.

The 32-year-old Sicilian introduced himself to Abdul in April after an “Idol” taping. They spoke for four hours and later began dating.

“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 twice married briefly in the mid-‘90s.

Though they aren’t cohabitating, Torregiani drives her places, cooks for her – even in hotel kitchens – and has taken to her dogs.

“My chunky dog, Tulip, is in love with him,” Abdul says. “He pays so much attention to her that she thinks she’s the queen.”

Is Abdul in love as well?

“I’m in a good place in my heart,” she says. “He’s like my best friend.”

Abdul didn’t make many friends with her recent Bravo reality series, “Hey Paula,” which she says falsely portrayed her as an unstable, hysterical, demanding diva.

“That was hard for me to watch. Disturbing,” says Abdul, who had no editing approval. “They’d put a camera on me when I got wind that my dog was in a coma, and they’d make it (seem) like it was about hair and makeup.”

She says she was asked to do a second season but refused, choosing to focus instead on her fragrance, skin care, clothing and jewelry lines.

On the upside, she believes the series portrayed her as an “endearing” person who works hard and is exhausted and a bit dizzy – from sleep deprivation, not booze and drugs.

“Being a role model is something I take very seriously,” she says. “So don’t say I do drugs. Don’t say I drink. Don’t do that because it’s not accurate.”

The birthday bunch

Actor Paul Hogan (“Crocodile Dundee”) is 68. Actor-comedian Chevy Chase is 64. Actress Sigourney Weaver is 58. Comedian Darrell Hammond (“Saturday Night Live”) is 52. Actress Stephanie Zimbalist is 51. Singer CeCe Winans is 43. Actress Emily Procter (“CSI: Miami”) is 39. Actor Matt Damon is 37. Actor Nick Cannon (“Drumline”) is 27. Actor Angus T. Jones (“Two and a Half Men”) is 14.