One of Great Britain's greatest rock stars, Sir Rod Stewart, has a music back catalogue brimmed with hit singles going back 63 years. And his colourful romantic history over those years is just as jam packed - with several relationships and marriages making headlines.
The music icon, who celebrated his 80th birthday on Friday, will be marking his special birthday year by playing the Sunday teatime legends slot at Glastonbury 2025. Announcing his performance 23 years after his last appearance at the festival, Sir Rod posted on Instagram: "I'm absolutely thrilled to announce that I'll be playing @glastofest 2025!".
He also told talkSPORT that he was "proud, ready and more than able to pleasure and titillate my friends at Glastonbury". The London-born lothario eventually found Mrs Right in their third wife, Penny Lancaster. Here we look back at his legendary love life...
Susannah Boffey
At the tender age of 17, Rod became a father to Sarah Streeter after a brief romance with art student Susannah Boffey, whom he met in a London nightclub in 1961. It's said that this early heartbreak deeply affected the young musician.
In his 2013 album 'Time', he reflects on the pain with the lyrics "woke to find you gone" and describes his "teenage heart scattered to the floor". Sarah, who was adopted by Evelyn and Gerald Thubron, only discovered her father's identity at 18.
When they met, Rod was amazed at the resemblance. The father and daughter had few meetings in the 80s, but hardly any contact during the subsequent two decades. Sarah's life has been marred with drink and drugs but she reconnected with her dad following the death of her adoptive mother in 2007.
Rod has since embraced his role as her father, saying: "She calls me Dad and I call her my daughter. We're doing our best." In 2018, Sarah opened up about how her relationship with her famous father had evolved over time.
"But over the years it has become much more relaxed and now he's just Dad to me," she shared. "You can't get away from the fact that he's Rod Stewart, the star, but when we're together I put that at the back of my mind."
Britt Ekland
Rod's most notable relationship was with Bond girl Britt Ekland, who starred in The Man with the Golden Gun, The Wicker Man and Get Carter alongside Michael Caine. Introduced by their mutual friend, Dame Joan Collins, in 1975, they embarked on a passionate love affair.
They lived together for two years, during which Britt has said she sacrificed her career to focus on her romance with Rod. His hit song Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright) was inspired by Britt.
"We were madly in love, we were absolutely obsessed with each other," she confessed at the time. "Meeting Rod Stewart and falling in love, so madly in love, was amazing."
However, just two years into their relationship, the couple split. Britt alleged that she ended their relationship due to his infidelity. Rod had stated the "changing point" was when Britt started applying makeup on him and his dad "went mad" when he saw it.
"So, I suddenly went, 'Hold on, I'm a north London boy, loves playing football, loves a pint, what are you doing wearing makeup," the singer explained. Britt has spoken coldly about Rod over the years and once claimed to the Mail On Sunday that he made her pay rent during the relationship.
“I had to pay $100 a month board and lodgings when I was living with him,” the 82 year-old alleged to the Mail On Sunday in 2020: . “I would go shopping with him and watch him buy clothes from Yves Saint Laurent but nothing for me."
Alana Stewart
Rod Stewart's first marriage to American actress and model Alana, who was once wed to high-profile actor George Hamilton, may have produced two children but ended in heartbreak. Tying the knot in 1979, the same year daughter Kimberly was born, Rod has since come clean about jumping into marriage too young.
As he remembered for PEOPLE magazine: "When I told my dad I was getting married, he said, 'You're far too young,'" and added with typical candour, "He was right. I still had a lot of living, partying, drinking and sh**ing to do."
A year down the line Sean was born, but alas, after five short years, the marriage crumbled when Rod struck out, leaving his wife in tatters. He'd already sparked up a romance with Kelly Emberg, a svelte blonde model, even before his first marriage had officially ended.
The years that followed left Rod acknowledging a trail of heartache, admitting to a slew of "a lot of broken hearts" and reflecting on his past actions with regret, he said: "I haven't treated women badly but I'm not proud of the way I broken up relationships. I was a real coward."
Alana, now patched up in terms of her relationship with Rod, shared how the divorce shook her world. Opening up about the painful experience she said, "Divorce is never easy, but it's even more painful when you find out your husband is having an affair with a beautiful model fifteen years younger than you."
"I had always been so certain that we were forever, that nothing could ever come between us. I can't make Rod out to be the total villain and me the innocent victim, even though he was the one having the affair. The last couple of years our marriage had started to deteriorate from the madly in love couple who had everything we could possibly want to the reality of having young children and a wife who couldn't keep up with the rock-and-roll lifestyle anymore."
Rod's son Sean starred in the American reality show Sons of Hollywood, showing the attempts of three kids of celeb parents trying to build their own careers. While daughter Kimberley, who is a model and fashion designer, began acting and starred in 1999 film Black and White with Robert Downey Jr. and Jared Leto.
She also gave Rod his first granddaughter, Delia, whose father is The Usual Suspects actor Benicio del Toro.
Kelly Emberg
Rod had started seeing model Kelly Emberg, who was 15 years younger than him, before his marriage to Alana had ended. The couple had one daughter, Ruby, and stayed together for seven years, which at the time was his longest relationship.
Rod has admitted he treated her "terribly" and has described her as "the most wonderful woman in the world". Meanwhile, Kelly has revealed: "It is very hard being in love with someone and knowing they are wrong for you. I thought about breaking up with Rod for a year before I finally made the decision to do it. But once I turned 30 and had a good look at my life and situation, I realised Rod didn't want to marry me."
Despite the rocky past, Rod and Kelly have since mended fences, with Kelly, a former Sports Illustrated sensation, becoming firm friends with her ex-beau. Their daughter Ruby followed her into the fashion limelight, also dabbling in music with two bands and appearing in a Diet Pepsi advert.
Rachel Hunter
A whirlwind romance saw Rod propose to Kiwi beauty Rachel Hunter just three weeks after they met in a nightclub back in 1991, with wedding bells chiming three months later. Despite their 26-year age gap, the couple welcomed daughter Renee in 1992 and son Liam two years on.
However, by 1999 Rachel chose to end the relationship, a move that devastated Rod staggered. Recounting his disbelief, Rod shared with the Mail On Sunday: "I couldn't believe it," confiding, "I was a rock star. You don't dump a rock star! It knocked me for six. It was a huge shock."
Reflecting on their age difference, Rod admitted that it likely played a significant role in their parting, sharing: "She was just 21 when we married and a mum a year later. My sister Mary told me she was too young for me as we were walking down the aisle. And she was right."
In a candid 2001 interview with the Mirror, Rachel Hunter confessed that despite the outward appearance of a fairy-tale life, she was planning to leave Rod Stewart. She revealed: "To the outside world I was the mother of two beautiful kids, a wife to Rod and a successful model without any financial worries – but inside, I was in torment."
She added: "By the time I was 29, I had spent eight years with someone else's group of friends. In the nine years were together, I'd never done anything for myself. If you'd asked me then what I liked or didn't like, I wouldn't have been able to tell you. I didn't even have a hobby."
The couple officially parted ways in 2006 and Rachel has since admitted that she will carry the guilt of causing Rod pain, as he was "distraught", for the rest of her life. Their son Liam has followed his own path, becoming an ice hockey star and playing professionally for the Milton Keynes Lightning.
Penny Lancaster
Rod eventually found enduring love with another model, Penny Lancaster, whom he started dating in 1999. The pair tied the knot in 2007, a year after his divorce from Rachel was finalised, and their love story continues to this day.
They have two children, Alastair and Aiden, who are mostly kept away from the public eye. Penny who makes regular appearences on Loose Women has released several fitness videos and appeared in 2007 Strictly Come Dancing as well as a string of other TV shows.
In recent years however Penny has dedicated herself to some distinctly regular work. After taking part Channel 4 show Famous And Fighting Crime, in which celebrities swapped their day jobs with those of emergency service professionals, in April 2021, Penny completed her training to become a special police constable for The City of London police.
Speaking on The Graham Norton Show, proud Rod said: “She trained for eight months, and she loves it. I backed her all the way. She says she loves giving something back, but more importantly she wants to protect the city she loves.”
As well as her 'regular police work', Penny was also part of the police team working during the King's coronation in May last year. His relationship with his brave wife, is Rod's longest marriage and the couple seem more content than ever. Their sex life is still "great", although at times, Rod admits he just wants a cuddle.
In a 2018 interview with Event magazine he said: "I need a bit of a start on the handle now, like a vintage car," adding, "Sex becomes more spiritual as one gets older. I love sex with my wife, but I love just giving her a hug."
"Every night we have a kiss and a hug, and that doesn't always lead to sex but it's still lovely. When I'm away from her a long time and I don't get a hug, I really miss it."
Rod Stewart will be performing on Radio 2 In Concert airing on BBC2 at 8.35pm