Christie Brinkley - Personal Life

Personal Life

In 1982, Brinkley had a romantic relationship with Olivier Chandon de Brailles (born September 17, 1955 in France), heir to the Moët-Chandon Champagne fortune. The two met at Studio 54 in New York City at a party promoting a calendar in which Brinkley appeared. Chandon died a year later on March 2, 1983 in an auto-race car crash during a private pre-season practice session.

Christie Brinkley has been married four times:

• In 1973, with French artist Jean-François Allaux (born in Rabat, Morocco) that ended in 1981 without children.
• In 1985, with musician Billy Joel (born May 9, 1949 in Bronx, New York) that ended in 1994 with one child Alexa Ray Joel. Brinkley and Joel met in 1983 on the Island of St Barts, in the Caribbean. Joel and Brinkley were married on March 23, 1985 on a yacht on the Hudson River and this was the second marriage for both. Joel was 35 and Brinkley 31 and took their vows in a private ceremony attended by 175 family members and friends, including Paul Simon and the Stray Cats.
• In 1994 with Real estate developer Richard Taubman (born 1948). Brinkley and Taubman met in 1994 when a mutual friend introduced them. He proposed to her in May 1994 although she and Billy Joel were still married. They were married on December 22, 1994, in Telluride, Colorado near the area where they were both in a helicopter crash in March 1994. Brinkley was 40 years old and Taubman 46 and she announced at their wedding that they were expecting a baby boy. The marriage ended in 1995 with one child, Jack Paris Taubman.
• In 1996 with Peter Halsey Cook (born January 1, 1959, New Jersey), an architect. Cook and Brinkley first met in 1979 when he was modeling; their paths also crossed a few times after that. They were later reintroduced by a mutual friend, NBC's Jill Rappaport, and announced their engagement in August 1996. They married on September 21, 1996 at a ranch in Bridgehampton, New York. Brinkley was 42 and Cook 37. They had nearly 120 guests at their wedding, including Billy Joel. They had one child, Sailor Brinkley Cook. They divorced on October 3, 2008. Brinkley's first lawyer in the case was Robert Wallack, and she was later represented by Robert Stephan Cohen, both top divorce attorneys. The divorce proceedings, held in the summer of 2008, were regular tabloid fodder, in part due to Cook's admission that he had committed adultery with eighteen-year-old Diana Bianchi. Press and public interest increased with Cook's revelations that he had paid a large sum of money to Bianchi in the hopes of forestalling a lawsuit, and had spent thousands of dollars each month on internet pornography. Brinkley and Cook settled out-of-court in July 2008, with Brinkley granting her fourth husband $2.1 million in exchange for custody of their two children and the retention of 18 disputed properties in the Hamptons. Additionally, Cook was granted parenting time with the children. Further details of the settlement were kept private. The children became a focus of public attention when the former model contended that Cook used "overwhelming" physical force when unhappy with or disciplining the children. Alexa Ray Joel, Brinkley's daughter with ex-husband Billy Joel, testified about such behavior toward her, which Cook denied. Peter Cook wanted a judge to appoint a parenting coordinator, demand Brinkley enroll in anger management classes and order her to cover his legal expenses. In July 2008, a court-appointed psychiatrist, speaking during child custody proceedings in Brinkley's fourth divorce, testified that while he believed Brinkley should gain custody of her and Cook's children, both she and Cook need therapy. Her divorce from Peter Cook was officially finalized on October 3, 2008.

Brinkley has three children:

• Alexa Ray Joel, (born December 29, 1985), with Billy Joel. The name "Ray" was given to Alexa in honor of Ray Charles.
• Jack Paris Taubman, (born June 2, 1995), with Richard Taubman. He was later adopted by Peter Cook and named Jack Paris Brinkley Cook.
• Sailor Lee Brinkley Cook (born July 2, 1998), with Peter Cook.

Brinkley and her children are fans of the New York Islanders ice hockey team. Brinkley began doing promotions for the team after being noticed at games. In 2007, she showed her support by writing a blog for NHL.com and filming a commercial.

Brinkley has one brother named Gregory Donald Brinkley, a nutritionist and father of one son and one daughter: Ian Amadeo Brinkley (born January 15, 1990) and Elliott Marie Brinkley (born January 5, 1997).

Brinkley became a vegetarian when she was 13 years old and then got her entire family to become vegetarians. She lives on Long Island in Sag Harbor, New York; she previously lived in Bridgehampton and Amagansett, Long Island.