EXCLUSIVE: Atlantic Crossing! Rod Stewart has QUIT his life in LA after growing tired of its 'toxic' culture - and at the behest of wife Penny who hates 'nuisance' of traveling and just wants to focus on her job as a volunteer cop

Rock icon Rod, 78, put his 33,000 square-foot LA mansion up for sale this week for a whopping $70 millionThe Maggie May singer is living in Essex, UK with his police officer wife Penny, 52, and their two sons, Alastair, 18, and Aiden, 12 SEE INSIDE: Rod Stewart puts his LA home on market for $70 million  

Rock icon Rod Stewart has made his Atlantic Crossing – and he has no plans for a return journey after deciding to quit his life in Los Angeles once and for all in order to settle down back in the UK, DailyMail.com has learned.

This week, the 78-year-old, who was born in the UK, severed a major tie to California when he put his sprawling Beverly Hills home on the market for a whopping $70 million – and now sources have revealed that he has no plans to set up another family base in the city.

According to two well-placed insiders, Rod has grown tired of what he sees as the ‘toxic’ culture in Los Angeles – where he also feels that he has ‘no privacy’ – and has chosen to return full-time to his home in the UK to support his wife Penny and their sons, who no longer want to deal with the ‘nuisance’ of traveling back and forth.

Rod and Penny, 52, who tied the knot in 2007, have two sons together – Alastair, 18, and Aiden, 12 – both of whom are currently enrolled in a school in Essex, while their mother has been working as a volunteer police officer in London for the past few years.

‘Penny loves the life she has made away from America and away from LA. She enjoys nothing more than working for the police force,’ a friend of the the family told DailyMail.com.

Rod Stewart, 78 (pictured with wife Penny Lancaster, 52, in 2022 at their home in the UK) is ‘done’ with Los Angeles, putting his home there on the market this week for $70 million

Rod’s reasons for staying in the UK include his wife Penny’s job as part of the police force in London and his son Alastair, 18, and Aiden, 12,  being in school (family photo from 2018)

Rod has lived in this luxurious mansion in Beverly Hills since 1991. The 33,000 square foot home includes nine bedrooms, a pool, tennis court and theater

Penny (seen working at King Charles’ coronation) was inspired to become a special constable by the TV series Famous and Fighting Crime. She completed her training in April 2021

‘She also finds traveling to be more of a nuisance than anything and wants to just live her life as a working mom.’

The former model – who married Rod in 2007 – was inspired to become a special constable for the City of London Police by the TV series Famous and Fighting Crime, which she appeared in. She completed her training in April 2021 and began volunteering with the force soon after.

But beyond supporting his wife’s career ambitions, Rod has also chosen to make his return to the UK because he knows that is where his two sons want to be.

‘Besides, her and Rod’s boys are in no way wanting to leave their school and friends in the UK to come over to America,’ the insider continued.

The move marks a major shift for Rod, who has spent nearly five decades shuttling back and forth between Los Angeles and his family home in Essex.

But a second source shared that the chart-topper – who has eight children by five women – has the full support all all his kids, daughters Sarah Streeter, 59, Kimberly, 43, Ruby, 35, and Renee, 30, and sons Sean, 42, Liam, 28, Alastair and Aiden.

‘They all know how happy him and Penny are living there and that is all they want is for their father to be happy.’

DailyMail.com has contacted Rod’s spokesperson for comment.

Penny (with son Alastair and Rod) enjoys living overseas and ‘just wants to live her life as a working mom,’ a source tells DailyMail.com

Rod recently shared this photo with all eight of his kids in Portofino, Italy. A second source says that they all ‘fully support’ his decision to leave LA and ‘want for him to be happy’

Rod moved to the City of Angels in 1975 – a decade after starting his solo career. Shortly after hopping ponds, he talent launched him to superstardom.

During his career, he has had 11 number one singles and 12 number one albums – selling more than 130 million copies.

‘Rod has always considered Britain to be his home. Los Angeles was everything that he needed it to be for that time in his life, but it is obvious that he does not favor LA anymore. It has just gotten so toxic and he has zero privacy in the city.’

On May 9, Rod’s daughter Ruby welcomed Otis Stewart Kalick with her fiancé Jake Kalic.

And then, days later on May 12, Rod’s ice hockey player son Liam and his partner Nicole Ann, revealed the arrival of their first son Louie.

He shared photos recently with both of his grandbabies and looked absolutely elated. As fans know, he is constantly sharing family updates on his social media.

Rod first became a grandfather in 2011, when his daughter Kimberly and actor Benicio Del Toro welcomed a daughter, Delilah, who’s now 11.

‘Rod is so devoted to his family and is very close with all of them,’ the insider adds. ‘He is at an amazing place in his life and is elated about being a grandfather to his three grandchildren.’

Still, his decision to leave Los Angeles for good is a bittersweet one.

The Maggie May singer, pictured with his two eldest grandkids last month, is ‘devoted to his family,’ says source and is ‘elated’ about being a grandfather for the third time’

As fans who follow his famous family know, Rod purchased the home that he just listed for $70 million in 1991, while he was married to model Rachel Hunter.

He paid $12 million for the land and built the Beverly Hills mansion from the ground up. The massive 33,000 square foot abode, which was designed by famous California architect Richard Landry, has been his home since.

The nine-bedroom mansion includes a three-story guesthouse and two gyms, as well as a pool. Unique to the property is a sizable soccer field.

In recent years, countless celebrities and other high-profile individuals have fled California, which has had an increase in taxes on the rich and soaring crime rates.

Actor Jim Carey, 61, who purchased his Brentwood mansion for $3.8 million in 1994, listed his home for a whopping $28.9 million after announcing his plan to retire from acting.

Mark Wahlberg said he had bid the Golden State farewell in hopes of giving his children a ‘better life’ in income tax-free Nevada late last year.

Tesla CEO and now ‘Chief Twit’ Elon Musk confirmed he has relocated to Texas in 2020 following a feud with California lawmakers over government shutdowns amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Actor Scott Baio is the most recent celeb to leave LA – citing crime and homelessness as his reason for wanting out.