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Christie Brinkley Says Billy Joel’s Alcoholism Was the Cause of Their Divorce

James Smith

April 17, 2025
3 Min Read

Christie Brinkley Says Billy Joel’s Alcoholism Was the Cause of Their Divorce

Reading Time: 3 minutes

From 1985 to 1994 Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley were one of the world’s biggest power couples.

She was the world’s most famous supermodel, and he was the singer-songwriter responsible for a slew of beloved hits.

But the marriage ended on a sour note, and now, Christie is opening up for the first time about what went wrong.

American model Christie Brinkley, wearing a silver jacket, and her husband, American singer-songwriter and musician Billy Joel, wearing a checked shirt beneath a black jacket, attend a party to celebrate the release of 'Biograph,' held at the Whitney Museum of American Art, in New York City, New York, 13th November 1985. — American model Christie Brinkley, wearing a silver jacket, and her husband, American singer-songwriter and musician Billy Joel, wearing a checked shirt beneath a black jacket, attend a party to celebrate the release of ‘Biograph,’ held at the Whitney Museum of American Art, in New York City, New York, 13th November 1985. (Photo by Vinnie Zuffanate/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Christie Brinkley says she and Billy Joel parted ways because of his drinking

In excerpts from her new memoir published by People magazine, the fashion icon says that the split was a result of Joel’s alcoholism.

“To be clear, I never wanted to end things with Billy. But his drinking was bigger than the both of us,” she said.

“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.”

Joel has spoken openly about his struggles with substance abuse. In 2023, he told the Los Angeles Times that he’d quit drinking “a couple of years ago.”

“It wasn’t a big AA kick. I just got to a point where I’d had enough. I didn’t enjoy being completely inebriated, and it probably created more problems in my life than I needed,” he continued, adding:

Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley. (Photo by Diane Freed / Liaison Agency)

“I don’t need it now. I used to get offstage and be so wound up and adrenalized that I needed something to calm down to go to sleep. But I realized when you’re drinking yourself to sleep, you’re not really sleeping. You’re just passing out.”

In the years since her split from Joel, Brinkley has had two more marriages, one to real estate developer Ricky Taubman, and a second to architect Peter Cook. Both ended in divorce.

Elsewhere in her book, Brinkley gushed about her early days with Joel.

“We laughed like you couldn’t believe. But also he was so sensitive and he did all the old-fashioned things, the flowers, the notes and the poems and the songs,” she said.

Billy Joel and his wife, Christie Brinkley, pose for photographers during a visit to the White House 19 October 1993. (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images)

“He was going into the recording studio and he was writing all these songs and saying ‘This one’s for you.’ How could I not fall in love with him?” Brinkley continued, explaining that she doesn’t see the singer very often these days, but they still get along.

”He lives mainly in Florida so we don’t see him as much as when he lived in Sag Harbor,” she said.

“But when he comes by to see [daughter] Alexa, he’ll come in and say hello.”

Asked about Joel’s reaction to her memoir, Christie remarked, “Alexa described it to him, and he’s like, ‘Sounds good, no problem.’”

So it may have taken a while to get there — but it sounds like Billy and Christie have reached a stable place in their relationship.

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