Sir Rod Stewart laments split with New Zealand wife Rachel Hunter: Rocker says age gap reason for end

New Zealand model Rachel Hunter and with her then- husband, British singer Rod Stewart in 1991. Photo / Getty Images

Supermodel Rachel Hunter was “too young” for her marriage to Sir Rod Stewart to last, and the age gap was the reason she left, the rocker has revealed in a rare interview about his Kiwi former wife.

Stewart has spoken to the Times about Hunter, their age-gap love and the impact their separation had on him.

“It tore me to shreds,” 80-year-old Stewart told the UK newspaper.

Hunter is 55 - she and Stewart had a 24-year age gap. The pair married in 1990, split in 1999 and divorced in 2006, sharing two children - ice hockey star Liam and daughter Renee.

They met in a Los Angeles nightclub, the Roxbury Club. And Stewart wrote in his 2012 autobiography that he thought he had met a “goddess”.

Stewart wrote in his book: “There was a connection straight away. She was extremely beautiful, but there was something no-nonsense about her as well.

“It was there in her New Zealand accent, but also in her face, which was open and smart.

“Not only was she as far removed as could be from the stereotype of the flaky model, but she already had money and fame.

Kiwi supermodel Rachel Hunter, ex-wife of Sir Rod Stewart, with their son Liam at his wedding in Croatia. Photo / Backgrid

“That was a relief. In my position, that suspicion was always there: does this woman really like me, or just the stuff that surrounds me?”

Hunter has spoken with New Zealand media about her break-up with Stewart, but the rock star has rarely commented.

In an interview with the Times, Stewart has revealed why Hunter left, and how he had “a splendid time” in the six months between the breakdown of their marriage and meeting his now-wife Penny Lancaster.

“Rachel left me because she was too young — my sister said I should never have married her in the first place — but it tore me to shreds," he told the outlet.

“There were six months between Rachel and Penny because my bass player, who had Penny’s number, wouldn’t give it to me.

“He said, ‘All you’re going to do now is shag around’, and he was right: I had a splendid time in those six months.”

Hunter told TVNZ’s Sunday in 2015 she left because she wanted to find herself.

“It was just one of those things... I just ... I wanted to find out - who was I?

“I was 21, I had two children by the time I was 23 - it was that decision that I made, I don’t know why I made it, that’s where I am today.

“It was just the way it went, and do I hate hurting somebody like that? Absolutely. It was hard and ... he’s said it many times - he understands.”

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