Penny Lancaster on marriage to Rod Stewart: 'You can't stop him!'

30 September 2025, 18:16

Sir Rod and Penny have been married for 18 years and together for over 25.

For Penny Lancaster, being married to rockstar Rod Stewart is just one of the many things that ensures “every day is a surprise.”

With the release of her memoir Someone Like Me this month, the model, special constable and TV star has recently added ‘author’ to her long list of life accomplishments – which also include being a proud wife, mother, step-mum and grandma.

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Speaking with Smooth Radio’s Jenni Falconer about her book, Penny admitted an injury was needed to slow life down enough for her to put pen to paper.

“I had to be signed off duty,” Penny said, describing the effects of a leg injury she suffered at home in 2023.

Watch Penny and Jenni's full interview below:

Penny Lancaster on Rod Stewart, memoir writing and what's next

“And then an opportunity for a book came along and I thought perfect timing!”

Rod gets the credit for giving Penny the confidence to go for each new opportunity as they come her way.

“I think being dyslexic, you learn differently, and you learn to pull out all the stops and find your other skillsets... You end up putting a lot of different hats on,” Penny shared while considering her varied career.

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“I didn’t have the confidence when I was younger, but once I met hubby Rod he was like: ‘You can do this, you can do that,’ and I forged ahead and gave everything a go, and I love spreading myself amongst it all.”

Asked what the secret to the pair’s long-lasting romance is, Penny said she doesn’t believe there’s a “special spell or secret” to a successful marriage.

“It’s an ongoing project,” she continued. “You fall in love and then you’re married and have children, and that’s not the end. It's something you have to nurture and constantly pay attention [to]...

“Like you do a friendship,” the 54-year-old explained. “If you don’t invest time and energy and love into that friendship, you’re going to lose the important threads...

“In a marriage when you’re seeing each other all of the time, don’t take it for granted that it will always be solid.

“You have to always pay attention to [your partner] and make sure they’re doing okay,” she added, stressing the importance of making time to share “quality moments” which can be as simple as just “a walk in the garden or a coffee” together.

Penny and Rod are a great match, as the ‘Maggie May’ singer shares her enthusiasm for having a packed life, despite being 26 years her senior.

Rod Stewart performs with daughter Ruby in Austin

Commenting on Sir Rod’s busy life, Penny noted: “Turning 80, he decided: ‘I want to do 80 shows this year to celebrate my 80th’” despite Rod having also promised he would “slow down” as he entered his ninth decade.

“But you can’t stop the man,” she admitted: “He loves it so much.”

Still, after getting seriously ill with the flu this summer, it looked at one point like the 80-year-old would have to pull out of appearing on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage as 2025’s Legends headliner.

“It knocked him sideways; he couldn’t move,” Penny recalled. “He came home and he still had these residual symptoms, and he said: ‘Look darling, I really don’t think I’m going to make [the performance].’

“He was in this sort of state of panic, like: ‘I don’t want to let all those people down,’” she described.

But this time it was Penny who could provide her partner with the encouragement needed to go on.

“I said: ‘Look, stop it.’ It was like talking to one of my kids when they’re going through a negative moment and you have to lift them and inspire them.”

After giving her husband the pep talk he needed, Penny pulled out all the stops to ensure he was back to full health by the time of his performance, getting him all the care and attention his voice needed.

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“I got him to the doctors, I got him a voice coach... the breathing apparatus, the steam machine... I said: ‘We’ve got this, together as a team.’”

Penny insisted: “‘It’s all in your head, darling. Physically you’re going to be fine, you’ve just got to get your head around this.’

“And then he did, and he was amazing, of course,” she gushed.

Someone Like Me by Penny Lancaster is available to buy in all good bookshops and in audiobook form now.