Penny Lancaster says hubby Rod Stewart still keeps her on her toes after two decades together
Penny Lancaster has lifted the lid on her relationship with husband Rod Stewart including the rows and romance of their 26 year relationship.
In the new interview Penny even says playfully: ‘I’m the oldest woman Rod’s ever slept with!”.
Recalling the very start of their relationship in 1999, she says singer Rod wooed her during a tour of Rod’s Victorian Pre-Raphaelite art collection at his home in Essex.
Penny momentarily reclined on his four-poster bed, and the rock icon leant down for a lingering ‘upside-down kiss’, which, she recalls in her new memoir, turned her “whole body” to jelly.
Speaking to Woman&Home magazine, she said: “It still works to this day. We’re so used to kissing in the same manner, so if you turn it around like that, it feels like the first time you’ve been kissed all over again.”
This year Rod turned 80, and Penny – now 54 – is the same age he was when she started dating him at just 28. The pair first met in 1999 following the singer’s separation from his ex-wife Rachel Hunter and they then married in June 2007.
On the longevity of their relationship, she added: “The thing I think of is, I’m the oldest woman Rod’s ever slept with – and that happened a long time ago. When I met him, the oldest woman he’d ever slept with would have been 30. Now he’s the oldest man that I’ve slept with too!”
Asked if intimacy is still important, she added: “Oh gosh, it’s still so important, just simple hugs and touches, and looking into each other’s eyes.”
Rod took to social media in August last year when claims were made he and Penny were at odds over whether they should live in the US or UK. He denied the allegations and described himself as a very lucky man, adding: “Penny and I could not be more in love with each other”.
In the new interview Penny admits the pair do argue like any normal old married couple, and says she struggles to keep up with her rock star husband and his boundless energy showing he is still young at heart on and off stage.
Penny said: “Rod and I argue about the usual stuff. Normally, it’s over parenting. He says, ‘You spoil them too much with “Let me bring your breakfast up to your bed for you”.’ Then I might go, ‘You’re spoiling them when you say “I’ll give you £20 if you can hit the crossbar with that ball”.’ “We have those kinds of battles but there has never been a point in our relationship when we’ve felt unable to move forward.
“If Rod and I have a disagreement, it might take him a little bit of time, but he will always apologise and he’ll say to our sons, ‘Boys, it’s so important to say “I’m sorry”.
It not only helps soothe you, it feeds everyone’s souls.’ That’s an important lesson.”
On his energy, she added: “I can’t keep up with my husband – it’s hard to believe Rod’s 80! Seventy would be fair enough. Rod has so much more to give. The word retirement is not on his lips.
“He’s not a ‘put my feet up’ kind of guy. Rod says, ‘I’ve always wanted to go here or do this,’
and I’m like, ‘We can’t do that, darling, if you’re going to keep working at this pace.’
He’s on constantly. This year, I had to take out shows to put in some family time, including a week in the Caribbean to celebrate [Rod’s 80th]. The children are getting older, and we want to cherish this last moment, this last phase.”
Penny is busy herself having been a regular panellist on ITV’s Loose Women and works as a special constable for the City of London Police. She has also just finished her memoir Someone Like Me which is released later this month.
* The full interview with Penny is in the November issue of woman&home on sale September 25.
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