David Hasselhoff was spotted being wheeled through Cancun airport in Mexico on Monday in a wheelchair following the tragic suicide of his ex-wife, Pamela Bach

David Hasselhoff is ‘living on borrowed time’ according to a source close to the Baywatch star(Image: Getty Images)

David Hasselhoff is “living on borrowed time” according to a source said to be close to the Baywatch star. The 72-year-old, who shot to fame as Mitch Buchannon in the NBC show in 1989, was spotted on Monday in a wheelchair at Cancun airport in Mexico before limping through LAX in California alongside his wife, Hayley, 45.

Sporting a stiped shirt, black baseball cap and slacks, David gave a thumbs up as he could be seen leaning heavily on his Welsh wife, who he has been married for seven years as the couple flew home after holidaying in Mexico. The photos were taken weeks after David’s ex, Pamela Bach, tragically died by suicide, which reportedly left the Knight Rider star and his family “deeply saddened”.

David Hasselhoff’s ex-wife, Pamela Bach, tragically died by suicide(Image: Sygma via Getty Images)

Speaking about David following the tragedy, a source close to the dad-of-two told the Mail that the star’s health has been declining over the years, saying: “David is living on borrowed time and has lived hard.

“He had a life that people could only dream of but he also spent decades self-medicating through alcohol and other substances, which he does regret.”

The source added that while sober now, David’s health “has been declining for some time,” as a result of “decades of alcoholism”.

They also pointed out his age as well as his major operations, including having a defibrillator fitted to prevent a heart attack, concluding: “He knows that every surgery could be the last.”

However, when contacted by the Mirror, David’s rep told us he was “fine” and awaiting knee surgery, which is why he was in the wheelchair, saying: “He’s doing fine and actually they were returning from a great vacation in Cancun.

“He is scheduled to have knee surgery next week, hence the wheelchair.”

He is now married to Welsh wife, Hayley Roberts(Image: Getty)

David’s battle with alcohol reportedly played a role in the breakdown of his marriage to Pamela, who tragically took her own life aged 61 in her Hollywood Hills home on March 5.

Paramedics were called to the mum-of-two’s home and discovered she had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. David, who shares two daughters with the actress, said through a spokesperson that his family was ‘deeply saddened’ by her passing.

Pamela previously claimed that alcohol played a central role in her split from David, claiming the “drink was taking over his life”.

Describing her husband as a man whose battle with alcohol had begun to take a devastating toll, she told the Mail: “To me, he was the man who fell over on the bedroom floor. “He has a disease, just like cancer. And just like cancer, it ate away at our family from the inside.”

Despite her deep love for David, Pamela confessed: “I always believed in happy Hollywood endings, but our story doesn’t have one.

The couple met on the set of David’s sci-fi series Knight Rider in 1986. At the time, he was married to his first wife and co-star Catherine Hickland, while Pamela was dating a comedian.

In 1989, David and Catherine divorced. He met Pamela again that year on the set of Baywatch, where she had bagged a small role. After nine months of dating, Pamela was pregnant – and they expedited their wedding before calling it quits in 2006.