By Faye James

Copyright hellomagazine

Sir Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster seem to have a love so strong that nothing can come between them. And yet, the former model revealed that the pair almost went their separate ways after a disagreement about having children together, with Rod already being a father to six kids at the time. The duo first met in a bar in 1999 and went on to marry in 2007, yet it took some convincing on Penny’s part for the legendary singer to be open to the idea of welcoming another child into his life.

Speaking to Saga, Penny revealed that she would’ve walked away from their relationship if Rod had stuck by his decision to not have more children. “And that would have been very hard. But we just went with the flow,” she recalled. The rocker changed his tune eventually, and they went on to welcome sons Alastair, 19, and Aiden, 14.

“Now Rod always says, ‘I wish I’d said yes [to babies] earlier, because then we could have had more children,'” Penny continued. “Even five years ago, we were talking about adopting, but it ended up not happening. We thought there might be too much of an age gap.” The TV personality slyly added: “Actually, I have three because there’s another big baby who needs my attention in a different way. I think all women would say that about their husbands.”

Rod and Penny may share a 26-year age gap, but their marriage appears to be stronger than ever. Speaking to HELLO! about their deep connection, the “Forever Young” singer shared the secret to their long-lasting love. “We love life and make date nights for one another, among touring and family time,” he said.

“We listen to each other and try to resolve all our disagreements, the dirty laundry, as Penny says, right away, and before we go to bed.” As for his wife, Penny shared that being attracted to Rod is key. “You need a healthy attraction. Rod and I can have dinner in a crowded room or just the two of us – we always have eyes for each other,” she explained.

“There’s this look, this connection, this message without words.” They renewed their vows in 2017 at their Essex estate in a romantic ceremony. The proceeds from the event were donated to the victims of the Grenfell fire in London. Penny is now a proud stepmother to Rod’s six other children, Sarah, 61, Kimberly, 46, Sean, 45, Ruby, 38, Renee, 33, and Liam, 31.

“Being a stepmother to start with was very daunting and challenging, but it’s proved to be an honor and very rewarding,” she told HELLO! “When I first met my husband 15 years ago, his youngest was five and the oldest was 21. So I got to see the different stages that children go through and the challenges they hold, but the rewards as well.”

She continued: “It’s been a learning curve, but a wonderful one. It’s so lovely that we’re all so close and they all turn to me for advice, to talk about dad, boyfriends and career choices. It’s a big happy family now.”