Rod Stewart talks about "losing" teenage son to games and girls: "I miss him so much"
Rod Stewart has admitted to missing his son Alastair, as he joked about losing the 13-year-old to computer games and girls.
In an interview with Ireland’s The Late Late Show, Stewart told host Ryan Tubridy that his eldest son with model Penny Lancaster is “becoming a teenager”.
“First it was Fortnite [game], now he has got his phone, so it is all girls,” the 74-year-old said. “There is a side I feel I have lost in him in the past two or three years.
“I suppose it is growth and he is becoming a teenager and it is an awkward time for him. I miss him so much. I miss the boy in him.”
The Forever Young singer has eight children from five relationships. He and Lancaster welcomed son Alastair in 2005, followed by Aiden in 2011.
“I have got Aiden and he is seven,” said Stewart. “I have another six [children]. Don’t ask me how old the eldest one is please. She is up there. I had a naughty winkle when I was in my teens.”
Stewart also discussed his regrets in missing the early years of his children Sean and Kimberley, whom he shares with first wife Alana Stewart.
“With my kids Sean and Kimberley, I was on tour a lot, so I missed their growing up because I had to,” he said. “I was in debt to the IRS to $2 million in the late seventies and that was a lot of money, so I had to go and do a lot of touring, so I didn’t see much of my kids. So, I really cherish my time with my two boys now.”
Stewart also expressed guilt over the way he broke up with many of his romantic relationships in the past. “I think what I was doing was what anyone of my age would have done. You know, shagging and drinking,” he said.
“The only thing I regret is that I didn’t say goodbye very well. I snuck out the backdoor or didn’t say anything and disappeared, which is not a gentlemanly thing to do. I regret that. I didn’t want any altercation or confrontation.”
Rod Stewart on spending Christmas with the exes.#LateLate live now pic.twitter.com/Tfxpna0XGG
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) March 15, 2019
Despite this, he said he gets along well with his former partners, including Alana, ex-wife Rachel Hunter and past girlfriend Kelly Emberg. “We all had Christmas together once,” Stewart said. “I don’t think it will ever happen again, but it was special.”