Rod Stewart says men should "absolutely" be given lessons about the menopause
Sir Rod Stewart has said that teaching men about the menopause would be a “very good way to go” in saving relationships during what can be a challenging time for many couples.
The 76-year-old rock star admitted how “frightening” he found it to see his wife, Penny Lancaster, suffering with severe menopause symptoms last year.
Speaking on ITV’s Loose Women, he said: “I googled and googled and googled. I googled menopause so much when she was going through it.
“She was in a fragile situation. I just had to listen and learn and get ready for saucepans being thrown through the kitchen.”
He added: “It was frightening, because this really wasn’t the person I married.
"We talked about it, which I think is the most important thing a couple can do, and she explained to me – through the tears, as Penny likes a cry – and talked it through, and that’s what couples do.”
His comments come after The Daily Mail reported that the South Tees Hospital NHS Foundation Trust had started running menopause courses for men in April this year.
When asked if menopause lessons should be introduced for men, Stewart said: “Absolutely – it’s a very good way to go.
“Men have got to get on with it, understand and come out the other end.”
He added that while he hadn’t discussed the menopause openly with his male friends, he would “tell them to be understanding” if the subject arose, saying: “Some of them should have that talk right now.”
Fifty-year-old Penny is currently campaigning for better support for women going through the menopause and for the scrapping of prescription charges for hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Opening up about her own experiences, she told the Loose Women panel about a day when she was struggling with particularly bad menopausal symptoms.
She revealed that “everything had been going wrong”, and had been cooking dinner when she “had enough”.
“I ended up throwing dinner across the kitchen,” Lancaster said.
“I just screamed and burst into tears. The boys came and hugged me. Rod said, ‘Just give mummy a minute’. So, we’re lucky that we’ve got that open discussion," she said.
According to Menopause Charity, up to 900,000 women have left their jobs because of how bad the menopause symptoms can be, with 80% reporting hot flushes and 60% having brain fog. For help and advice visit Menopause Charity.
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