Better an old man's darling than a young man's slave

Body language experts claim when a woman is brushing imaginary lint off a man or picking hairs off him, she’s doing it because she wants his attention. Watching it, I felt it was as though she was staking her claim on him. Perhaps she was unconsciously signalling to the former blonde, long-legged, lovelies in his life that she was keeping him. Her actions also looked like an effort to draw attention to herself and remind him that ‘Lady Stewart’ was by his side and not to be ignored. Indeed, in the outfit she was wearing she was certain to be looked over rather than overlooked! Observing her evident smugness at being the current wife of Rod as he becomes a knight, I couldn’t help but wonder what his former wives Alana Stewart (married from 1979-1984) and Rachel Hunter (married from 1990-2006) thought about the matter. No doubt it has crossed both of their minds that they might have become a lady, had Rod not been attracted to much younger women as he aged.

Rod started dating Kelly Emberg in 1983 whilst he was still married to Alana. Ms Emberg was 15 years younger that Rod, they split up in 1990 when he met and married Rachel Hunter after knowing her for just three months. There was a 24-year age gap between Rachel and Rod, she was just 21 when she married the then 45-year-old Stewart. The couple separated in 1999 and Rod moved on to Penny Lancaster, whom is 26 years his Junior.

The May-December relationship is nothing new. Since time began men have been attracted to youth and physical appearance. The science behind this is that men prefer younger women because of their fertility, which makes it more likely that their family line will continue. Of course it’s not all down to the old chestnut of reproduction. Older men don’t find it totally repugnant when a beautiful, young girl with a fabulous figure is sitting in front of them in a restaurant, hanging on to their every word.

According to a study, when men remarry they usually marry someone younger. Twenty percent of newly married men have a wife who is at least ten years younger than themselves. Whereas women supposedly aren’t attracted to youth. Women are believed to be attracted to power, confidence, social status and someone with the means to support them and their offspring. My mum used to have a saying; it’s better to be an old man’s darling than a young man’s slave.

Many successful men like Stewart marry much younger women. Donald Trump proposed to Melania Knauss in 2004, when he was 58 years old and she was 34. In 2008 Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood walked out on his wife and children to live with an 18-year-old cocktail waitress. He was 61 at the time, the romance soon died. The now 69-year-old Wood went on to marry Sally Humphreys in 2012, she is 31 years his junior.

Bernie Eccleson (85), is another wealthy man who chose to wed a much younger woman, Fabiana Flosi, with whom he has a 47-year age gap. Eccleson is reportedly worth $3billion. And who could forget the late Anna Nicole Smith’s marriage to 89-year-old oil tycoon, J Howard Marshall II, when she was just 26 years old? Methinks if these elderly gents were sitting in care homes being funded by the state, these young women wouldn’t have given them the time of day.

Money, power and fame are the most powerful aphrodisiacs. With an estimated net worth of $220 million, global fame and now a title, 71-year-old Rod Stewart is the kind of man many young women would find irresistible, irrespective of his age. It’s no wonder Lady Stewart whom he describes as; ‘a great girl’ is standing protectively by his side, brushing him down and keeping an eye on him, and probably one over her shoulder for any approaching nubile, blondes (whom no doubt home in on old Rod like a heat-seeking missile!) As the late, great, Groucho Marx said; ‘Behind every successful man is a woman, behind her is his wife!’