Four marriages, three children, and one unforgettable life later, the supermodel opens up about regrets, resilience, and the kind of love she’s still willing to wait for.
A Life Lived in the Spotlight—and in the Heart
Christie Brinkley has defined beauty for a generation, but behind the iconic smile is a woman who has lived, and loved, deeply. In a candid new interview with The New York Times, the 70-year-old opened up about her four marriages and the lessons, heartbreaks, and hopes they left behind.
“I’m a fool for love,” Brinkley said. “That love takes work. Sometimes you need experts. I wish I could have saved some; I wish I hadn’t married others.”
From Paris Dreams to a Bohemian Beginning
Brinkley married artist Jean-François Allaux in Paris at 19. It was love at first sight, but six years later, it ended.
“I got married too young,” she admitted. “I felt constrained. Maybe I should’ve tried harder.”
By then, she had transformed from a bohemian dreamer into an international star.
Billy Joel, Booze, and Bittersweet Memories
Her second and most famous marriage was to Billy Joel. They wed in 1985, divorced in 1994, but remain close.
“Joel loved his drink more than me,” she shared. “If we’d been older, maybe we’d have figured it out.”
Still, their friendship endured. When Brinkley wrote her memoir, Joel said simply, “Just say what you need to say.” She called that “part of his healing.”
Taubman and the Cost of Devastation
In 1994, Brinkley married Richard Taubman. It lasted under a year but left emotional scars.
She claimed he “married me for my money.” After giving birth to son Jack, she tried to reconnect, only to be asked for money again.
“It was usership and manipulation,” she wrote in Uptown Girl. Days later, she filed for divorce.
Peter Cook and the Public Fallout
Brinkley’s fourth marriage to Peter Cook began in 1996 and ended in a very public 2008 divorce. They share daughter Sailor, and Cook adopted Jack.
“I was married to a stranger with other lives,” she said of Cook’s affair with a teenage assistant. “The divorce lasted for years. It was agonizing.”
She recalled breaking down in court: “Who is this man who sits at the table and pretends he’s been at work?”
Still Hopeful, Still Happy
Despite the heartbreak, Brinkley says she’ll never stop believing in love.
“All the pain and stupidity. I’d do it again because I believe in love,” she said. “It would be sad not to.”
She’s also learned to thrive alone: “I’ve made peace without having it. I don’t need someone to be happy. I am happy.”
But she’s still open: “I have so much happiness in me, I would love to share it with someone I love.”
