Penny Lancaster reflects on the struggles of navigating a blended family with husband Rod Stewart's other children: 'I could only imagine how difficult it was for them'

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Penny Lancaster has opened up on the trials and tribulations of navigating a blended family with her husband Rod Stewart's other children.

The Maggie May hitmaker, 80, has eight children with five different women, two of whom are sons Alastair, 19, and Aidan, 14, which he raises with third wife Penny, 54.

Rod also has Liam, 30, and Renee, 32, with his second wife, model Rachel Hunter, 55, while Kimberly, 45, and Sean, 44, are from his first marriage to actress Alana Stewart, 79.

Daughter Ruby, 37, is from a former relationship with model Kelly Emberg, 65 and Rod's firstborn child is Sarah Streeter, 61, who was raised by her adoptive parents Gerald and Evelyn Thubron.

And discussing the subject of blended families on the latest Loose Women podcast alongside co-star Coleen Nolan, 60, Penny reflected on entering Rod's life when his children Liam and Renee were young, revealing how 'difficult' it must've been for them having another woman in their lives following their parents' divorce.

The ladies were speaking in response to a caller who admitted that she didn't want her ex-husband to take their children on holiday with his partner and their children.

Penny Lancaster has opened up on the trials and tribulations of navigating a blended family with her husband Rod Stewart 's other children

The Maggie May hitmaker, 80, has eight children with five different women, two of whom are sons Alastair, 19, and Aidan, 14, which he raises with third wife Penny, 54 [pictured with seven of his eight children and three grandchildren]

Sharing her own experiences of becoming a stepmother, Penny explained: 'There's five mothers, so it's a bit blended', later adding: 'I really did take into account what it must be like for the mother when I was around Rod [Stewart’s] children. 

'Liam and Renee, Liam was just five and Renee was seven. So, still quite young and impressionable and I could only imagine how difficult it was for those children to have their parents divorced, let alone to have another woman around.'

She went on to add: 'I guess I just wanted them to see that dad was happy, and if I was the person that was making dad happy and dad still communicated with mum and they still made the big decisions about things, it was a case of just tiptoeing.'

Penny now enjoys a great relationship with all of Rod's children, with the whole clan even holidaying together on many an occasion. 

Last year, Penny and Rod, who married in 2007, gave an insight into their family life with the singer's eight children and revealed how they are bringing up their brood to remain humble. 

Reflecting on their home life in a candid interview, the duo detailed how they ensure their relationship stays 'special' and recalled how Penny navigated the unique problems of living in a 'blended family.' 

Speaking to HELLO!, Rod explained: 'We listen to each other and try to resolve all our disagreements - the dirty laundry, as Penny says - right away, and before we go to bed.' 

When Penny met Rod back in 1999 when she performed as part of his band and he was still married to his second wife Rachel Hunter. 

Discussing the subject of blended families on the latest Loose Women podcast, Penny reflected on entering Rod's life when his children Liam and Renee were young [Liam second left and Renee third right in 2003]

'Liam was just five and Renee was seven. So, still quite young and impressionable and I could only imagine how difficult it was for those children to have their parents divorced, let alone to have another woman around'

Sir Rod pictured with his large blended family as he celebrated the wedding of his hockey player son Liam in Croatia last year

Rachel and Rod separated that year and divorced in 2006, with the singer going on to marry Penny in 2007. 

At the time Rod already had six children, with Penny admitting: 'I knew that I had to be honest with them, too, so that they would accept me. I couldn't pretend to please every single one of them, so I was just myself. It took a while, but they came to trust me.' 

Elsewhere in the podcast, Coleen told how she had a similar situation to the woman who had called in about her ex husband and kids.

She shared 'Well, it happened to me. I remember when me and Shane [Richie] first split up, and obviously he was with the girl that we'd split up because of, and then it was about probably about six months [to] a year down the line. 

'He wanted to go to Florida with her and the boys, and they hadn't even met her at this point, so I arranged for the boys to meet her with me, and she came to the house and we chatted.

Elsewhere in the podcast, Coleen [right] told how she had a similar situation to the woman who had called in about her ex husband and kids

'Because as much as obviously it hurts you, it hurt me, and you're thinking about "What if my kids end up falling in [love with her] because she's going to be the good guy and she'll spoil them because she wants them to love her" and all of this. 

'But then I thought, "A, it doesn't matter what she does. They'll never love her as much as they love me". I'm the mum and secondly, I don't want the boys to feel guilty going, that they've betrayed me.'

She added: 'Don't get me wrong, they went off [and I] cried my eyes out. What I did was I took myself away for two weeks with a friend, and I went and had a lovely time. Kid free.'

The singer star shares sons Shane, 36, and Jake, 32, with EastEnders star Shane Richie, 61. She also has daughter Ciara, 24, with ex Ray Fensome.