Model mum Penny Lancaster has spoken exclusively to HELLO! about becoming a stepmother to husband Rod Stewart’s six children and about her relationship with her own mother. Loose Women panellist Penny, 46, told us that taking on the stepmother role with Rod’s children from his previous marriages has been a fulfilling experience. “Being a stepmother to start with was very daunting and challenging, but it’s proved to be an honour and very rewarding,” she said. “When I first met my husband 15 years ago, his youngest was five and the oldest was 21. So I got to see the different stages that children go through and the challenges they hold, but the rewards as well.”
Penny Lancaster with her husband, singer Rod Stewart
Penny and singer Rod, 72, married in Italy in 2007, and together are parents to Aiden, 5, and Alastair, 11. Of the couple’s big family, Penny told us: “It’s been a learning curve but a wonderful one. It’s so lovely that we’re all so close and they all turn to me for advice, to talk about dad, boyfriends and career choices. It’s a big happy family now.” Penny also spoke about being grandma to Kimberly Stewart’s daughter Delilah, five. She said: “Together Rod and I have a grandchild. I’m step-granny and that’s wonderful because Kimberly’s daughter Delilah is almost the same age as our little Aiden and they get on like brother and sister. It’s wonderful that they have their little play times together and they’ll always be really, really close.”
Penny Lancaster with her sons Aiden and Alastair
Penny has also opened up about the strong mother-daughter relationship she shares with her own mother, Sally. They are so close that Penny was able to confide in her mother about the bullying she suffered as a child. Penny revealed to HELLO!: “I wasn’t that confident when I was younger and I was bullied at school. It was my mum who kept telling me that I should believe in myself, don’t change to please others, stay true to yourself and that’s what I try and teach my little ones. [I was bullied] for being tall and for speaking nicely. I didn’t fit in with the mould.” Penny continued: “I felt confident enough to open up to my mum and she gave me the confidence to be strong and be true to myself.”
READ: Penny Lancaster shares rare photo of youngest son Aiden
Penny went on to pay a lovely tribute to her mum on Mother’s Day, saying: “I’m hoping to fulfil a dream of following in the same footsteps as my mum, because she’s been an incredible mother and she’s still to this day helping me with my little twosome, my little monkeys. She’s an inspiration, she’s always worrying about everybody else and never too concerned with what’s going on about her.”