Loose Women star Penny Lancaster has sent touching birthday wishes to her husband Sir Rod Stewart as the rock icon marks his 80th birthday, saying she is ‘so blessed’ to have him

Rock and roll icon, Sir Rod Stewart, is celebrating his 80th birthday, and his wife Penny Lancaster, 53, has sent a seriously sweet message to him on social media marking the new decade he’s entering. ” Happy birthday my darling,” Penny wrote. “So blessed to be sharing this day together with all our kids. Building more memories to carry with us into the future and to be held close to our hearts forever, I love you xx.”

The loving message accompanied a sweet photo of Rod wearing a straw hat and looking pretty sunkissed whilst he smiled gently at the camera. The couple is reported to be celebrating the musician’s landmark birthday in the Caribbean, and the festivities to celebrate the massive milestone will span across “several weeks,” Penny has previously said.

Penny and Rod have been married for nearly 17 years after tying the knot in an intimate ceremony in Portofino, Italy, back in 2007, and have been together for 25 overall. They share two children: Alastair, 19, and Aiden, 13. The couple first met in 1999, when Penny was working as a photographer and asked to take some snaps of Rod during one of his tours, when the musician was separated from his second wife Rachel Hunter.

Rod and Penny have been together for over 25 years ( 
Image:
Dave Benett/Getty Images for Annabel’s)
Rod also has six other children from previous relationships – and they could well be joining the fun in the sun as the family celebrates Rod’s birthday. The music icon’s children span a large range of ages, with his eldest 61 years old, and his youngest only 13.

Sarah, 61, is the child of Rod and Susanna Boffey, and he also shares Kimberley, 45, and Sean, 44 with his first wife Alana Stewart – who he was married to from 1979 to 1984. Rod then had Ruby, 37, with ex-girlfriend, Kelly Emberg, before marrying Rachel Hunter, with whom he had Renee, 32, and Liam, 30.

Rod also boasts three grandkids: Delilah, 13, and Otis and Louie, who are both 19 months – so any time the entire family gets together is bound to be a seriously lively and busy occasion.

Sir Rod is due to headline Glastonbury Festival next summer, and shows no sign of retirement being on the horizon, despite reaching his eighties. “I have no desire to retire,” Rod posted on Instagram last November, adding: “I’m fit, have a full head of hair, and can run 100 metres in 18 seconds at the age of 79.”

Penny has confirmed that her husband shows zero signs of taking his foot off the gas any time soon, “He’s a workaholic and constantly on the move,” Penny has admitted. “I struggle to keep up with his training schedule. He works out three or four times a week — even on tour.”

Penny and Rod’s love story is one for the ages
Rod’s made it clear that his lust for life hasn’t diminished one bit as he has got older, despite being diagnosed with prostate cancer back in 2016 – he got the all-clear in 2019. The musician told The Sun last year : “I’m aware my days are numbered but I’ve got no fear. We have all got to pass on at some point, so we are all in the same basket. I am going to be enjoying myself for these last few years as much as I can. I say few — probably another 15. I can do that easy mate, easy.”

Despite a brief two-week break-up some time ago, Penny and Rod’s love story is still going strong, with Rod previously saying, about the couple renewing their wedding vows: “Penny is my whole world. What a girl.

“Love means many things to many people but to me, it’s wanting to share everything with the one you love and I love Penny more now than ever, if that is at all possible. It was a beautifully romantic thing to do. We’re not proving anything, just sharing our love with our friends and family.”