Rod Stewart had a secret split from wife Penny Lancaster. Stewart can't bear to be away from Lancaster, even for a little while-and the two-week breakup in a secret split left him so heartbroken, he recorded a song about it.

During their secret split in the 1990s, Stewart said "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."

Rod Stewart, 68, said the secret two week split from wife Penny Lancaster was so agonizing for him he recorded a cover for his new album of Tom Waits' "Picture in a Frame".

"Penny and I broke up for two weeks and the song is about that time," Stewart told Australia's "Life" magazine.

Stewart's been married before, and has eight children with five different women, but he's fiercely devoted to Lancaster now. He says he's learned over the years about what it takes to make relationships work-and a clear head is very important.

"You have to take the good with the bad, and women prefer you when you're truthful. My relationship rule is, 'don't argue after a glass of wine - leave debating until the morning'," he said.

And, he says, listening's important, whatever else happens. "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."

One tip is to not gamble or smoke. "I have taken a lot of risks when it comes to relationships but I have never gambled or smoked - women don't like that," Rod Stewart said.

But he wishes he'd been a bit less promiscuous as a young man. In a previous interview, he said the advice he'd give his younger self was "Maybe keep your banana in the fruit bowl a little longer. It has got me in a lot of trouble."

Still, he's settled down now, and he clearly loves his wife. Watch video of the song emotional Rod Stewart recorded after his secret split with Penny Lancaster below: