Rod Stewart, Secret Split: 'Forever Young' Singer & Wife Penny Lancaster Broke-Up for 2 Weeks, 'Agonizing' Experience Inspired Song on New Album 'Time'

Legendary singer Rod Stewart recently revealed that he and his wife Penny Lancaster had secretly split up for about two weeks, and it was not pleasant. The 68-year-old crooner told Australian magazine that the break up was "agonizing," leading to his decision of adding a specific song to his the track list of his new album, Time.

"I cover Tom Waits' "Picture In A Frame" on my new album Time. Penny and I broke up for two weeks and the song is about that time," Stewart told the magazine. "I asked her for a photo of herself in a frame so that I could see her when I went to bed and when I woke up."

Stewart went on to talk about his long and sometimes infamous love life.

"I have taken a lot of risks when it comes to relationships but I have never gambled or smoked - women don't like that," he explained. "You have to take the good with the bad, and women prefer you when you're truthful."

Now that he went through the agonizing split from his 42-year-old wife, he talked about how his relationship will work now.

"My relationship rule is, 'Don't argue after a glass of wine - leave debating until the morning.'" Stewart said. "I have always loved women, won some, lost some, but it's not about the magic touch, it's about being a better person and a good listener. I met Penny in my 50s and if I had not learnt by that point in my life I was never going to."

Stewart and Lancaster got married in 2007 but have been together for a total of 13 years now.

Time was released on May 7 in the United States. The albums American single, "She Makes Me Happy," is currently number 14 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.