After meeting at a dive bar in St. Barts in 1983, supermodel Christie Brinkley and legendary musician Billy Joel embarked on a whirlwind romance that captured the attention of the world.
They went on to marry and welcome their daughter Alexa. Brinkley even famously starred in the music video for Joel’s hit song Uptown Girl.
Then, just over a decade later, they separated and then divorced. Reasons for the couple’s breakup were never made public – until now.
READ MORE: Gossip Girl star Michelle Trachtenberg’s cause of death revealed
Brinkley has opened up about the breakdown of her marriage to Joel, with whom she remains friends, in her upcoming memoir Uptown Girl.
“To be clear, I never wanted to end things with Billy,” she wrote in the book, per an excerpt from People.
“But his drinking was bigger than the both of us.”
Joel has spoken openly over the years about his struggles with alcohol which, Brinkley reveals, led to the unravelling of their marriage in the ’90s.
READ MORE: Liam Payne’s ‘chilling’ final words to girlfriend revealed
“In the end, when the relationship isn’t functioning the way you want it to be anymore – that’s the worst kind of loneliness because you just can’t make it work together and that’s painful.”
Despite their marriage breakdown, Brinkley and Joel remain friends and reveals in her memoir that their relationship is “great”.
“He lives mainly in Florida so we don’t see him as much as when he lived in Sag Harbour, but when he comes by to see Alexa, he’ll come in and say hello,” she wrote, per People.
After her relationship with Joel, Brinkley went on to marry real estate developer Richard Taubman in 1994, with whom she welcomed her son Jack.
For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.
Their relationship wasn’t to last, with Brinkley and Taubman divorcing in 1995.
A year later, in 1996, she tied the knot with architect Peter Halsey Cook. The pair had reconnected after first meeting in the late 1970s during Brinkley’s early modelling days.
They share a daughter, Sailor, together. Cook also adopted Brinkley’s son Jack. In 2008, the pair sensationally divorced after 10 years of marriage.
The model remained quiet about her personal life until opening up in 2020 about her relationship with American singer John Mellencamp.
READ MORE: Khloé’s bombshell reveal about Keeping Up with the Kardashians
READ MORE: All the stars spotted at Coachella 2025
Despite seemingly finding love again, this time at age 62, Brinkley and Mellencamp’s romance ended after a year.
“Both the mileage between their homes and their heavy career demands interfered with their ability to maintain the relationship,” a rep for the pair told People.
“They vowed to remain best of friends.”
Meanwhile, Joel went on to marry celebrity chef Katie Lee in 2004 but they divorced in 2009.
In 2015, he married Alexis Roderick with whom he shares daughters Della Rose and Remy Anne.
In a conversation with The New York Times in 2013, Joel revealed that Lee was the driving force behind his 2005 stint in rehab.
“I went to rehab in ’05 because, when I was with Katie, she said, ‘You’re drinking way too much’,” he said.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.