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Tags: rod stewart | marriage | divorce

Rod Stewart Opens Up About His Failed Marriages

Rod Stewart Opens Up About His Failed Marriages
Rod Stewart. (Amy Harris/Invision/AP)

By    |   Thursday, 11 November 2021 12:24 PM EST

Rod Stewart is getting candid about why his first two marriages did not work. 

Speaking about his first wife, Alana Stewart, the music icon told People that he was too young and had "a lot of living" to do. Stewart was 34 when he married Alana in 1979. They divorced in 1984. Looking back, Stewart said he thought he was ready, but he "wasn't."

"When I told my dad I was getting married, he said, 'You're far too young,'" Stewart recalled. "He was right. I still had a lot of living, partying, drinking, and shagging to do."

Six years after their split, Steward found love with model Rachel Hunter. 

"When I got married a second time to Rachel [at 45], I really thought she was the one — but I got that wrong," he continued. 

The pair remained married for nine years but things ultimately ended in divorce in 1999. Days later Stewart met his current wife, model Penny Lancaster. 

"Rachel broke up with me on a Monday evening, and it was heartbreaking. No one leaves Rod!" Stewart said. "But that Saturday night, I met Penny at the Dorchester Hotel in London. The bass player in my band, Carmine, said, 'Listen, you've just come out of a long nine-year marriage. You're not ready yet.' I nearly strangled him!"

Six months later Stewart's bandmate finally gave him Lancaster's phone number. They married in 2006. 

"[Penny] has mended my heart in more ways than one," Stewart said. "It's a perfect relationship. I always tell the girls in my band and my daughters, 'A woman has so much living to do.' It's your life! Forget men!"

While marrying a rock icon could mean a life of luxury, Lancaster chose to focus on public service instead and is now patrolling the streets of London as a police officer. Earlier this year she was spotted in uniform on her first day on the job. The idea to join the force first came to her in 2019, after appearing on "Famous and Fighting Crime."

The Channel 4 series sees celebrities join police officers in fighting crime, according to The Sun. The following year she joined the force as a volunteer special constable and the rest is history.

Zoe Papadakis

Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


TheWire
Rod Stewart is getting candid about why his first two marriages did not work. Speaking about his first wife, Alana Stewart, the music icon told People that he was too young and had "a lot of living" to do.
rod stewart, marriage, divorce
371
2021-24-11
Thursday, 11 November 2021 12:24 PM
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