Rod Stewart’s Near-Fainting Sparks Concerns: ‘The Way He Treats His Body Is Bound to Catch Up With Him’

Rod Stewart‘s wife Penny Lancaster is worried, reveals a source.

As Examiner previously reported, the “Forever Young” singer, 81, was forced to use an oxygen tank mid-concert in West Valley City, Utah on Friday, June 19, after nearly fainting onstage.

“Penny and the kids have been on Rod for literally years, telling him he’s no spring chicken and the way he treats his body is bound to catch up with him sooner or later, especially his booze consumption,” says the source. “He’s ignored them repeatedly and now, their worst fears are coming true.”

The week prior, Stewart had to cancel a concert in Chula Vista, California after an acute upper respiratory infection led to laryngitis, only to be spotted at a FIFA World Cup match in Boston.

“Even now, after this latest emergency, he’s telling them to back off and insisting he knows his limitations, making excuses about dehydration and saying it looked a whole lot worse to the outside eye than it actually was,” the source notes. “But for Penny, enough is enough.”

According to Examiner‘s source, Lancaster, 55, is “looking very seriously at hiring live-in experts who can be by Rod’s side 24/7 and ensure he’s eating right, pacing himself and, above all else, staying the heck away from the bottle for a good while.”

In a recent interview with The Sun, Stewart confessed to having “a quick Bacardi” before shows and getting “stuck into the Martinis” afterwards.

“It’s either that or rehab,” says the source, “which of course Rod would fight tooth and nail because he truly doesn’t think he has a problem.”