Christie Brinkley Reflects on Love and Loss: The Truth About Billy Joel
Christie Brinkley opens up about her complex relationship with Billy Joel in her new memoir, detailing the challenges of his drinking and their eventual split. Through reflections on her past, from surviving a helicopter crash to navigating difficult divorces, she shares insights on love, heartbreak, and resilience. Now focused on her modelling and fashion line, Brinkley seeks to inspire others facing addiction issues.
Christie Brinkley, the iconic model and author, has certainly had her fair share of ups, downs, and wobblies in life. She’s survived helicopter crashes (yikes!), married four times, and dealt with heartbreaks so heavy they deserve their own shelf in the local bookstore. Now 71 years old, she reflects on her relationship with her second husband, Billy Joel — yes, the “Piano Man” himself — in her new memoir, aptly titled “Uptown Girl,” a nod to that catchy hit he penned about her.
Brinkley and Joel tied the knot in 1985 and were married for nearly a decade before calling it quits. They have a daughter together, singer Alexa Ray, who is now 39. But it wasn’t all moonlight and roses; Brinkley puts the blame for the breakdown largely on Joel’s drinking. “If there wasn’t that issue … I do think that we were probably really soulmates,” she said, reminiscing about their whirlwind lifestyle as they gallivanted across the globe.
Things took a more serious turn when Joel would go missing for days, causing Brinkley to imagine all sorts of worst-case scenarios. For instance, he once disappeared right after their daughter’s birthday celebration, leaving her to picture him wrapped around a tree somewhere. Cue panic. This is pretty serious stuff—he even crashed his car into a tree years later. Not a great trend.
Then there was that Thanksgiving – only Brinkley found Joel, yes, absent again. Oh, and let’s not forget the Hawaii incident where she decided to lock him out after hearing he was out with an actress. Instead of knocking politely, he returned “visibly and audibly drunk” and threw a chaise longue through their patio door. Talk about your classic holiday surprises!
The last straw came when he accused his own band of stealing his pasta. “He was acting delusional in a way I’d never seen before,” Brinkley recalled, leading to an inevitable divorce chat. As she puts it, “To be clear, I never wanted to end things with Billy.” Despite reading every self-help book on the shelf, the drinking became too much to handle.
In a strange, yet sweet twist, Joel is now sober and married to his fourth wife, Alexis Roderick, with whom he has two little girls. Brinkley reflects fondly on her past, stating, “He’s the father of my firstborn… I’ll love him forever, but I knew I couldn’t live with him.”
Brinkley discussed her memoir with Joel beforehand. He even gave her the green light, saying, “Go ahead and tell your story… the good, the bad, whatever you need to say.” Brave man to encourage an exposé! But Brinkley doesn’t view it as detracting from his legacy but rather as a courageous step toward recovery for many affected by addiction.
Brinkley’s adventures don’t stop there. After a short trip to Paris ignited her modelling career, she went through heartbreak yet again — the tragic death of her boyfriend in a racing accident. This led her to meet Joel at a dive bar, proving life has a funny way of turning the corner just when you need it most.
She was later involved in a helicopter crash that almost turned into the plot of a disaster movie. The chopper fell from the sky, and while it sounds like a tale spun from fiction, it was real life and quite traumatic. Thankfully, she lived to tell the tale, and still sports some battle scars – hello, PTSD!
Brinkley’s love life also included a short-lived marriage to Rick Taubman that tanked faster than dough rising in a cold kitchen, because, surprise, surprise, there was some financial shenanigans involved. Let’s just say the guy might have borrowed a small fortune. To round out her romantic rollercoaster, marriage number four was with architect Peter Cook, leading to a very public divorce scandal and a fine porcelain plate of emotional anguish.
Despite feeling like she’s been through the washing machine, Brinkley emerged with her three kids, who she describes as her true treasures. Now, her youngest, Alexa Ray, is engaged, and Brinkley is ready to embrace being a grandma one of these days.
You can bet your last bottle of wine that Brinkley continues to model, run her fashion line, and even to sell her own wine! As she says, “There are people who live life like they’re afraid something bad will happen, but it’s all part of the adventure.” So, here’s to embracing mistakes, learning lessons, and laughing as you pick yourself back up!
In sum, Christie Brinkley’s life is a colourful tapestry of love, loss, and survival. From surviving a terrifying helicopter crash to navigating the bumpy road of her marriage with Billy Joel, her story resonates with struggles surrounding addiction and personal growth. Now thriving as a model and entrepreneur, Brinkley not only embraces her past romances but uses her experiences to empower others, especially in dealing with addiction. Whether she gets married again? Well, that’s a big maybe!
Original Source: pagesix.com
