Additional Coverage:
- Christie Brinkley Opens Up About Her Divorce From ‘Soulmate’ Billy Joel In Her New Memoir: ‘Booze Was The Other Woman’ (shefinds.com)
Supermodel Christie Brinkley’s new memoir, Uptown Girl, doesn’t shy away from the intimate details of her life, including her nine-year marriage to singer Billy Joel. Brinkley describes Joel as her “soulmate” and recalls the “amazing time” they spent together, jet-setting and experiencing the world. She fondly remembers the fun they shared, a sentiment reflected in the memoir’s title, taken from one of Joel’s hit songs, reportedly written about her.
However, the book also reveals the struggles the couple faced due to Joel’s alcohol abuse. Brinkley recounts troubling incidents of his alcohol-fueled disappearances, leaving her worried for his safety.
She shares a particularly heartbreaking story of Joel vanishing during their daughter Alexa Ray’s fifth birthday party, not returning for two days. Brinkley admits the panic she felt, imagining “his car wrapped around a tree.”
She also describes other instances of his disappearances, including one during Thanksgiving and another after photos surfaced of him with an Australian actress. In the latter incident, after Brinkley locked him out of their hotel room, Joel, allegedly drunk, returned and threw a chaise lounge through the patio doors.
The breaking point, according to Brinkley, came during a band rehearsal at their East Hamptons home. Joel, seemingly intoxicated, accused his bandmates of eating his pasta, despite having consumed it himself. Brinkley describes his behavior as “delusional” and reveals that she asked him for a divorce the following day.
Despite the difficult decision to end the marriage, Brinkley emphasizes that it was not her desire. She explains that she tried everything to salvage the relationship, including reading self-help books and consulting various therapists. Ultimately, she concludes, “the drinking was bigger than the both of us,” describing alcohol as “the other woman.”