Penny Lancaster says Rod Stewart is 'so youthful' and promises 'another 20 years' together

Penny Lancaster says Rod Stewart is “so youthful he’s a machine,” describing the longtime romance that has kept the couple married for 18 years and continues to fuel plans for future tours. In an interview with Saga Magazine published in its October issue, the TV presenter, 54, opened up about how their relationship began, the skepticism she faced from Stewart’s children, and thePromises of a life with a rock legend who shows no signs of slowing down.

Lancaster told Saga that when she and the Maggie May singer first crossed paths, she was 27 and he was 53, with six children by four women already in the mix. She said she had to convince his kids she wasn’t a gold digger or operating with any other ulterior motive. “They were, ‘What’s her angle?’” she recalled, adding that she tried to stay inclusive with the exes and never framed herself as a threat. The couple’s early dynamic set the tone for a blended-family story that has unfolded over nearly two decades.

The conversation underscored the endurance of their bond amid a life in the public eye. Lancaster described Rod as someone who rarely slows down, citing plans for tours “next year and the year beyond” and noting that even on the eve of his 80th birthday he told her he would “give you another 20 years.” Her account portrays a relationship built on shared energy and mutual admiration, with Lancaster repeatedly emphasizing Rod’s vitality and his drive to keep moving socially and professionally.

The couple’s public romance is inseparable from Rod Stewart’s complex family history. He has eight children in total, including Sarah, whom he welcomed with ex-girlfriend Susannah Boffey when he was 17; Sarah was later adopted by the couple. Kimberly and Sean, born to Rachel Hunter, are 47 and 45, respectively, while Ruby, 38, was with his former girlfriend Kelly Emberg. Renee and Liam, 33 and 30, come from his marriage to Hunter. Penny and Rod welcomed two sons together, Alastair, now 19, and Aiden, 14, completing a blended family that has weathered public scrutiny and personal growth.

Lancaster recalled that the six children were initially wary of the relationship, given the scale of Rod’s prior commitments and the media interest that accompanies his life. She said she pushed to keep everyone involved and to show that she could be part of the family without threatening his past relationships. “I was just, I like the guy. Whatever decisions Rod made with exes, I was always very inclusive with them, making sure they didn’t see me as a threat,” she said.

The saga of Rod and Penny’s romance also intersects with the singer’s own candid reflections on the end of his marriage to Rachel Hunter. Rod has previously acknowledged that the age gap contributed to the split, telling The Times that Rachel left him “because she was too young,” a confession that has flavored discussions of his relationships over the years. He has been forthcoming about the toll the breakup took, saying it tore him apart, even as he found a path to happiness again with Lancaster.

In recounting how the couple met, Rod offered a light-hearted anecdote: there were six months between his split from Rachel and meeting Penny, a window he attributed to a friend who owned Penny’s number but wouldn’t pass it along. “If he’d handed it over, I’d have had Penny sooner,” he quipped, reflecting a mix of humor and hindsight as part of the broader storytelling that accompanies their union.

The Saga Magazine interview, which features these reflections, also captures Rod’s gratitude for the life he shares with Lancaster. He described Penny as having “everything” he wants, and he has spoken publicly about how content he feels now, with a sense of steadiness that contrasts with the volatility of earlier years. The couple’s story, as laid out in the magazine, frames them as a blended-family unit navigating fame, parenthood, and the demands of a long-running music career while planning for a future that includes more performances and shared adventures.

The October edition of Saga Magazine, where the full interview appears, is on sale now. The feature offers readers a closer look at how Rod and Penny manage their day-to-day lives and their approach to family dynamics, public expectations, and aging in the spotlight. For fans and observers of Culture & Entertainment, the piece adds another chapter to the ongoing narrative of a relationship that began in the late 2000s and has endured despite the pressures that come with celebrity, age differences, and a sprawling family tree.