Jason Merritt/Getty ImagesFor a minute there, Rod Stewart was singin' the blues.
The "Hot Legs" crooner has revealed that he and wife Penny Lancaster briefly separated for two weeks after an argument, a heartbreak so devastating that it ended up inspiring a song on his new album.
"I cover Tom Waits' 'Picture In a Frame'" on my new album, Time," Stewart told Australian magazine Life (via the Daily Mirror). "Penny and I broke up for two weeks and the song is about that time. 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."
The rocker didn't say exactly when the split occurred.
Stewart, 68, and Lancaster, 42, have been together for 13 years. They began dating in 1999 and tied the knot in 2007—his third go-round at wedded bliss after previous marriages to model Rachel Hunter and Alana Hamilton (ex-wife of actor George Hamilton).
Along the way, the former Faces frontman admitted he's learned a lot about how to be a good partner.
"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 said. "You have to take the good with the bad, and women prefer you when you're truthful."
He added: "My relationship rule is, 'Don't argue after a glass of wine—leave debating until the morning.' 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."
Some guys have the luck, huh?
Time—Stewart's first batch of original material in nearly 20 years—hit stores on Tuesday.