Penny Lancaster — model, TV personality, and wife of music legend Sir Rod Stewart — has shared an emotional and deeply personal chapter of her life: her struggle with menopause. Now 55, she hopes her story will encourage open conversations about an experience that impacts millions of women, yet is still too often misunderstood or ignored.
Lost in a Storm of Emotion
Lancaster recalls a period marked by overwhelming mood swings, confusion, and an unshakable sense of despair. “I picked up the plates and threw them across the kitchen. As hard as I could, to make as much noise as I could. As if someone would wake up, someone would notice me, someone would have the answer,” she told The Times.
Her symptoms echoed what so many women silently endure: anxiety, memory lapses, sleepless nights, and sudden hot flashes. Yet, like two-thirds of women, she delayed seeking help — navigating the turmoil alone.
A Husband’s Realization
The turning point came when Rod Stewart noticed the changes and stepped in with quiet support. He gently asked their sons to give their mother space, and stayed by her side. “He really wasn’t the person I married,” Stewart later admitted, calling the transformation “frightening.” Determined to understand, he began researching menopause himself.
Misdiagnosed and Misunderstood
When Lancaster first sought medical help, she was misdiagnosed with depression and prescribed anti-depressants. “I was given tablets that numbed me. It took the edge off the panic and anxiety, but it didn’t get to the root of the issue,” she said. At times, her symptoms grew so severe she feared she might even have COVID-19, as her body swung between burning heat and freezing chills.
Finding the Truth — and Herself
It wasn’t until Lancaster leaned on her Loose Women co-stars that clarity came. Surrounded by women who understood, she recognized the signs of menopause for what they were. “It was the combined power of the women around me that finally helped me see it was menopause,” she explained.
Looking back, Lancaster admitted that at first it felt like “the end of the road.” “I thought I’d lost my sex appeal, my patience, my identity. But I had to say goodbye to the old Penny and welcome the new one.”
Breaking the Silence
Today, Lancaster uses her platform to highlight the importance of awareness and support. Her story is a call to action — for women to recognize the signs, for families and friends to offer empathy, and for professionals to provide better guidance.
What once felt like an ending has now become a new beginning. “One chapter closed, and another began,” Lancaster said, embracing her renewed sense of strength and self. Her message is clear: no woman should have to face menopause alone.
