Rod Stewart says 'it tore me to shreds' as he speaks about marriage breakdown

Sir Rod Stewart has candidly discussed the collapse of his marriage to his second wife, Rachel Hunter. The 80-year-old rock legend was first married to Alana Hamilton from 1979 to 1984, with whom he shares daughter Kimberly and son Sean. Following the end of this relationship, Rod tied the knot with ex-model Rachel, who was a whopping 26 years his junior.

When they said their vows, Rachel was just 21 and Rod was 45. A year later, they welcomed their daughter Renee, and son Liam followed soon after. It's suggested that the 'Maggie May' singer met his current spouse, Penny Lancaster, merely a day after parting ways with Rachel in 1999.

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Reminiscing about their initial encounter, he shared that Penny sought his autograph, which led him to ask her if she enjoyed dancing. "She was an incredible dancer, gorgeous, [and wearing] 6ft 4in heels," he fondly remembered, during a chat with The Times.

Despite being instantly smitten with the Loose Women star, Rod confesses he was counselled to enjoy single life for a bit post his split from Rachel.

"There were six months between Rachel and Penny because my bass player, who had Penny's number, wouldn't give it to me," he revealed to the newspaper.

"He said, 'All you're going to do now is s**g around'. And he was right, I had a splendid time in those six months." Rod and Rachel officially ended their marriage in 2006, and a year later, he wed Penny, the mother of his two sons.

"Rachel left me because she was too young. My sister said I should never have married her in the first place, but it tore me to shreds," he opened up.

Reflecting on his relationship with Penny, he added that she's "got everything" he's ever desired. Their union has now spanned 18 years, and the couple is still as close as ever. Last week, Penny showed her unwavering support as Rod took on the legends slot at Glastonbury's iconic Pyramid stage.

Also showing their support were the couple's sons Alastair, 19, and Aiden, 14, alongside Renee and Ruby, Rod's daughter with ex-partner and model Kelly Emberg.

Before Rod's performance at the music festival, he and Penny celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary in grand fashion.

To commemorate the occasion, they took a trip on the opulent Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, retracing the romantic stops from their engagement, wedding, and honeymoon journey.

It was in Paris where Rod proposed to Penny, before they exchanged vows two years later in Portofino, Italy, which was then followed by an indulgent honeymoon on board a luxury yacht along the Italian coast.

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