Christie Brinkley Recalls Argument with Billy Joel That Led to Divorce
Christie Brinkley is looking back at the end of her marriage to Billy Joel.
If you forgot, the 71-year-old supermodel and the 76-year-old “Piano Man” married in March 1985, and welcomed daughter Alexa in December 1985. Despite divorcing in 1994, the two remained close.
In the second installment of the HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, Christie looked back at the argument with Billy that led to their divorce.
Keep reading to find out more…Christie explained that Billy‘s excessive drinking and their limited time together while on his two-year long River of Dreams Tour put a lot of strain on their marriage.
“I don’t think it’s a secret that his drinking got pretty bad,” Christie said. “And he couldn’t really remember what he did when he was drinking, and so he didn’t really know how he could hurt people.”
As Christie recalled, things got so bad that she would often “just pretend that I was sleeping when he’d come in” because she “didn’t wanna see him in that condition” anymore.
“And then one night we had an argument and I said, ‘I really can’t take this anymore, and I’m just gonna take Alexa back up to New York and leave,’” she recalled. “And he said, ‘Yeah, fine, go.’”
Billy then said that his divorce from Christie taught him that “love is not concrete.”
“You feel like it is, but there are things eating away at it,” the Grammy winner explained. “And, in the end, it all catches up. And it’s hard. And I was so devastated.”
Christie said that she was equally hurt by the end of their marriage.
“I tried,” Christie shared. “I wanted it to work. I knew how lucky I was having music and all of that, but…it just didn’t work.”
Earlier in the documentary, Christie explained how Billy‘s River of Dreams Tour, which ran from 1993 to 1995, had a major impact on their bond.
“Our relationship went from lots of fun and really, totally enjoying each other and everything, to his work consuming him,” Christie explained. “And if I did go on the road, I wasn’t seeing him because the unwind period after the show was going on til late into the night. And it’s like, what am I even doing here?”
“I can’t be lonely just me and Alexa in this big ol’ house that was supposed to be so full of life and love and music and laughter and all of that,” Christie continued, as she started to get emotional. “Things were starting to deteriorate.”
Billy could also see that their marriage was suffering.
“I was in a relationship with someone who I care deeply about, but I was not able to be at home,” Billy admitted. “I was not able to be with my family. It was a very sad time for me.”
Back in May, Christie spoke out after Billy‘s brain disorder diagnosis.
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