Rod Stewart's wife Penny Lancaster lost her virginity to a rapist who drugged and assaulted her when she was first starting out as a model.
The blonde beauty shared her story during Thursday's (19Oct17) episode of U.K. talk show Loose Women, on which she is a panellist, as the co-hosts discussed the viral #MeToo social media campaign, exposing instances of sexual abuse or harassment.
Penny revealed her attack happened when she was just a teenager, after she was invited to join a man she had previously worked with at a fashion industry event.
"I was like, 'Oh, someone might be interested. I might be able to get some more work,' and that's what you were out there doing as a model," Penny explained.
The guy had to make a stop at his apartment before the event, and it was there that he offered to make the young model a drink, which she claims was spiked.
"Unfortunately, the next thing I knew... I don't even remember drinking the drink," she said, fighting back tears. "I found myself face down on the bed with him on top of me."
Penny, 46, was too scared to tell her parents about the assault, because she was convinced they would chastise her for agreeing to go to his home.
"He was a client I had worked with, and he promised to introduce me to other people," she continued. "I was just naive, and I trusted him."
Penny is the latest star to go public with her experience of sexual abuse or harassment in the wake of the scandal surrounding disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, and she hopes that by sharing her story, others who have faced similar traumas will be able to open up to parents and other family members and gain the support and understanding they need.
Sharing a few words of advice to viewers, the mum-of-two said, "Mothers, if your daughter is able to come and talk to you about it, they have to know they won't be told off, it's not their fault; they're not guilty, the other person is, and they need to be brave enough to tell the authorities."
