Rod Stewart gushed that wife Penny Lancaster is ‘everything’ to him, as he reflected on their relationship.
The singer, 75, looked back on their marriage in a candid interview with The Mirror on Friday, and admitted she helped him become a better person.
Of their two decades of marital bliss, he said: ‘I’m stunned that Penny has kept me around for 20 years.
‘I’m stunned she’s kept me around for 20 years’: Rod Stewart gushed that wife Penny Lancaster is ‘everything’ to him as he reflected on their relationship in an interview on Friday
‘They have not invented the words for how I feel about her. She is everything.’
He went on to say that she helped him understand the importance of a long and happy marriage, as he admitted: ‘It took me a while to learn, because I have been a scallywag in the past.’
Rod explained that being with Penny made him learn ‘good manners’ which he also tries to instil on his children, while he feels he helped her gain ‘a lot of confidence’ during the course of their relationship.
Penny and Rod began dating in 1999 before marrying eight years later in the medieval monastery La Cervara in Portofino.
Gushing: Of their two decades of marital bliss, Rod said ‘they have not invented the words for how I feel about her. She is everything’
After their wedding on 16 June 2007, the couple enjoyed their honeymoon on the Lady Ann Magee yacht, which was moored in Portofino, and they share sons Alastair, 14, and Aiden, nine, together.
The couple rang in New Year as a family, with Penny sharing a glamorous snap of the festivities, much to the delight of fans.
Last year, Rod proved his unity with both his current wife and his exes as the couple partied with Alana Stewart, Kelly Emberg and Rachel Hunter for a family snap as they celebrated his daughter Kimberly’s 40th birthday.
Relationship: Penny and Rod began dating in 1999 before marrying eight years later in the medieval monastery La Cervara in Portofino
Staying in: Penny and Rod have been self-isolating together during the coronavirus crisis, and she shared a snap of their pet chicken on Saturday
When asked about her relationship with Rod’s exes Penny explained: ‘When I met Rod, I realised it wasn’t just us, it was the children, the ex-wives. I had to show that I was genuine, show kindness, and it works.’
Rod’s first wife was actress Alana , 74, who he was married to from 1979 to 1984.
During their five-year marriage she had daughter Kimberly and a son Sean, 39, who has followed in his father’s footsteps as a musician.
They were also joined by his former girlfriend, model Kelly, 60, who he dated from 1983 to 1990. The couple share daughter Ruby, 32, who has also followed her father into the music industry.
Sweet: Rod has eight children by five women, and on New Year’s Day Rod celebrated with six of them (L-R Sean, Liam, Ruby, Aiden, Alastair, Penny, Jesse Shapira, and Kimberly)
His other ex in the picture was his second wife, model Rachel Hunter, 49, who he was married to from 1990 to 2006, but they separated in 1999.
They also had two children together: Renee, a 27-year-old dancer and yoga teacher, and Liam, 25, a professional ice hockey player in his mother’s native New Zealand.
The singer also shares daughter Sarah, 57, with Susannah Boffey from their teenage romance, Sarah was put up for adoption as her mother struggled to raise the baby on her own after the breakdown of her and Rod’s relationship.
Rod has previously spoken about how close he is to the three old flames saying last year: ‘They all live within three minutes of me, and we’ve all got children together. So we’ve got to be in each other’s lives for the rest of our lives.’
Getting on: Last year, Rod proved his unity with both his current wife and his exes as the couple partied with Alana Stewart, Kelly Emberg and Rachel Hunter for a family snap