Penny Lancaster and Rod Stewart's brief split he rarely discusses
Penny Lancaster and Rod Stewart's long-lasting romance has stood the test of time, with the pair tying the knot in 2007 and welcoming sons Alastair and Aiden.
However, their relationship was almost over before it really began, the 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?' singer, 80, revealed. Speaking of the pair's brief split, he told Life in 2013 of the special way he kept his now-wife, 53, close to his heart.
"Penny and I broke up for two weeks and the song [a cover of Tom Waits' 'Picture in a Frame'] is about that time," he said as he opened up about his album, Time, which was released in 2013.
"I asked her for a photo of herself in a frame so that I could see her when I went to bed and when I woke up."
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It is not known why they split or for how long, with neither Penny nor Rod discussing it at length.
Penny and Rod's love story
Rod met Loose Women star Penny in January 1999 when the then-27-year-old photography student asked for his autograph at the Dorchester Hotel.
Even though Rod got her phone number that night, their romance didn't develop until months later when she started working as his tour photographer.
"When we first met, I got her phone number – I had just broken up," the 'Maggie May' hitmaker said during an appearance on Loose Women in 2015.
"I gave it to the bass player... and he kept it for six months!" he continued, explaining that his bandmate didn't think he was ready to begin dating.
Months later they got in touch, and the singer proposed to Penny in the Jules Verne restaurant in the Eiffel Tower during a family day out in Paris in 2005.
"As we were crossing the tarmac to the plane, I hung back slightly with Penny’s dad, and above the whine of the engine, leaned into his ear and said: 'Do I have your permission to ask your daughter to marry me?' Graham’s a tough man, but his legs almost went from under him. I had to hold him up for a moment. 'Yes!' he said. 'Yes, you do!'" he said in his autobiography.
Rod popped the question with a princess-cut diamond engagement ring, and the couple went on to tie the knot in Portofino in 2007, with their two-year-old son Alastair in attendance.
Their youngest son Aiden was born in 2011, and Penny later admitted he was the one who encouraged the couple to renew their wedding vows at their Essex home in 2017.
"Aiden is always looking at wedding pictures and always says, 'Mummy, where am I?' And I'm like, 'You weren't born then!'" she told HELLO!.
