Rod, Rachel Over...Seven Years Later

Fri., Dec. 1, 2006 12:08 PM PST by Josh Grossberg

Have I told you lately...that I'm single?

Rod Stewart's lengthy divorce from Rachel Hunter finally became official on Nov. 2, seven years after the 61-year-old rocker and 37-year-old supermodel separated, according to new court documents.

Divorce papers released Thursday by Los Angeles Superior Court confirmed the dissolution of the marriage—Stewart's second, Hunter's first—but did not disclose any financial terms. Although the paperwork indicated some issues still needed to be ironed out, both parties signed the document, signifying they were no longer mister and missus.

After tying the knot in 1990 and having two children together, Stewart and Hunter split up in 1999, but remained legally married for several years. In 2003, the former Sports Illustrated swimsuit pinup filed for divorce, but later inexplicably dropped her petition. Stewart then filed his own petition last June, citing irreconcilable differences.

With judge and both parties making the breakup official, the proceeding paves the way for the "Forever Young" singer to wed fiancée Penny Lancaster. Stewart proposed to the model in March 2005 atop the Eiffel Tower, four months after Lancaster gave birth to the couple's first child, a son named Alastair.

In all, Hot Rod has seven kids—daughter Sarah Thubron, from a teenage romance with art student Susannah Boffey, born in 1964; daughter Kimberly, born in 1979, and son Sean, born in 1981, with Alana Hamilton; daughter Ruby, born in 1987, with ex-wife Kelly Emberg; daughter Renee, born in 1992, and son Liam, born in 1994, with Hunter; and Alastair, born in November 2005.

The couple has yet to set a wedding date (pending the finalization of his divorce from Hunter), but Stewart has previously indicated he and Lancaster were tentatively eyeing a summer ceremony in Scotland.

As for Hunter, the New Zealand catwalker recently told London's Sun newspaper that she accepted an offer from her ex-hubby of money for a house and trust funds for Renee and Liam, now 14 and 12, respectively. But she summarily dismissed reports that the reason it took their divorce so long to go through was because she was supposedly looking for a big payout. "It was never my intention to take Rod to the cleaners," she told the newspaper, before adding, "Rod and I have a good relationship now, and we are glad we can move on with our lives."

After topping the chart in recent years with his quartet of Great American Songbook albums, featuring covers of pop standards produced by music impresario Clive Davis, Stewart hit number one in October with his first rock album in eight years, Rod Stewart Still the Same...Great Rock Classics of Our Time.

Stewart kicks off his latest North American arena tour Jan. 12 in Fort Lauderdale.