Rod Stewart says he 'would never touch a girl unless she wanted me to'

Rod Stewart opened up about his womanizing past. (Reuters)

When it comes to being a rock star in his early days, Rod Stewart insisted he behaved like a gentleman with his female fans.

The 73-year-old got candid about his womanizing past when he was in the early ‘70s band Faces alongside Ronnie Wood at the British Film Institute Monday.

“Women literally used to throw themselves at us,” said the British singer. "It really was, ‘Oh not again tonight, Ronnie.’ It has changed. I can only speak from my perspective, but as a rock and roll singer, I used to show off with the girls.”

The singer also said he was mindful of his female fans and how they were treated.

“I would never touch a girl unless she wanted me to,” he explained. “Things have changed. You could get away with a bit more in those days than you can now and things have changed for the good.”

And when asked if he would give his 19-year-old self any advice, Stewart responded, “I think he did everything right. I think I was very respectful of the audience. There were never any tantrums. What would I teach myself? F--- all. I admire myself. I had a bit of spunk about me. I love that.”

Rod Stewart with his wife Penny Lancaster. (Reuters)

Stewart is now happily married to English model and TV personality Penny Lancaster. The couple tied the knot in 2007 and he credited her as his “diamond.”

“I have been married three times and I can say this with all honesty, I have got a great woman now,” he shared. “Maybe it is because I am a little bit older and I understand women a lot better than I used to. But I have got a diamond by my side now. She really is and I can’t say any more than that.”

Stewart also said his current stable relationship with the 47-year-old has helped him cope with his recent health woe.

“I have just had a little operation on my hand,” he said. “I had a couple of sun things there and they burnt them off.”

UK’s Hello! magazine previously reported the couple renewed their vows in 2017. They were joined by their sons Alastair and Aiden, as well as Stewart’s daughters Kimberly and Renee, as well as sons Sean and Liam.

“Penny is my whole world,” he told the magazine at the time. “What a girl. Love means many things to many people, but to me it’s wanting to share everything with the one you love and I love Penny now more than ever if that is at all possible.

"It was a beautifully romantic thing to do. We’re not proving anything, just sharing our love with our friends and family.”

“Being able to reflect on those ten years and say those words to one another and still know we mean them is important,” added Lancaster. “This felt more special. You get married with the hope that you’ll be together.

"When we renewed our vows, we said them not with just hope, but with a reassurance. Along with hope, there is also faith, love and bringing all the family together.”