Sir Rod Stewart thinks he was "too young" to get married when he was 34.
The 76-year-old rocker can see now he "wasn't ready" to tie the knot with Alana Stewart in 1979 because he still had a lot of "partying, drinking, and s*******" to do.
Rod - who divorced Alana in 1984 - said: "When I told my dad I was getting married, he said, 'You're far too young.'
"He was right. I still had a lot of living, partying, drinking and shagging to do."
Six years later, Rod found love again with Rachel Hunter and they married in 1993, but he admitted he was "wrong" when he thought she was the right woman for him.
He told People magazine: "When I got married a second time to Rachel [at 45], I really thought she was the one — but I got that wrong."
The model left the 'Maggie May' singer in 1999, leaving him "heartbroken" because "no one" dumps him, but he met his current wife, Lady Penny Lancaster-Stewart just days later, much to the concern of his friends.
He recalled: "Rachel broke up with me on a Monday evening, and it was heartbreaking. No one leaves Rod!
"But that Saturday night, I met Penny at the Dorchester Hotel in London. The bass player in my band, Carmine, said, 'Listen, you've just come out of a long nine-year marriage. You're not ready yet.' I nearly strangled him!"
Six months later, Rod's bandmate finally passed on Penny's phone number to him and the couple went on to marry in 2006.
And Rod - who has Sarah, 58, from a teenage relationship, Kimberly, 42, and Sean, 41, with Alana, Ruby, 34, with Kelly Emberg, Renee, 29, and Liam, 27, with Rachel, and Alastair, 15, and Aiden, 10, with Penny - couldn't be happier with his life.
He gushed: "[Penny] has mended my heart in more ways than one. It's a perfect relationship. I always tell the girls in my band and my daughters, 'A woman has so much living to do.' It's your life! Forget men!
"I couldn't ask for anything better. What makes me happiest now is seeing all my kids and my wife with big smiles on their faces."
The 'Sailing' singer credits intimacy with keeping his 14-year marriage to Penny strong.
He said: "I'm not talking about sex, but a kiss and a cuddle and a hold. Penny and I do that every morning. We hug each other — sometimes in bed, sometimes out of bed, all throughout the day. It's a wonderful relationship. Lucky geezer, aren't I?"
