How long was Christie Brinkley married to Billy Joel? Model was "pained" by the "cruelty and name-calling" her relationship had to endure in the media

Christie Brinkley and Billy Joel were married for a total of 9 years, with the two having been married in 1985 and divorced in 1994. The two had a child together, Alexa Ray Joel, in 1985. Even after the collapse of their marriage in 1994, the two remained in a cordial friendship.

Now Brinkley has talked about the negative press she and Joel's marriage endured in the media in her new memoir Uptown Girl, which is being released by Harper Influence, an imprint of Harper Collins. The model stated in portions of the memoir, here quoted via EW's article on the matter on May 4, 2025:

"I’ll never forget the first time I read an article describing my relationship with Billy as a match between 'the beauty and the beast.'"

The singer stated that the words had pained her before she went on to deplore the cruelty of the media's words:

"Cruelty and name-calling weren’t the commonplace behaviors they’ve become today. Who would say that, and how shallow could they be to judge people they’d never met? How little they actually knew."

Christie Brinkley elaborated on her Uptown Girl video with Billy Joel

In another part of the memoir, Christie Brinkley revealed how the Uptown Girl song, after which her memoir is named, is about:

"Six months into our relationship and one month after An Innocent Man started dominating the airwaves, we did something that would change my life and characterize us as a couple for the rest of our relationship: we made the music video for Billy’s new song 'Uptown Girl,'"

Christie Brinkley continued;

"Unlike what many people think, Billy didn’t write the hit about me — at least, not initially — nor about Elle MacPherson, but about someone who was as much fantasy as 'the Girl in the Red Ferrari.' One day, when we were out in his home on Long Island, which overlooked Oyster Bay Harbor,"

She later wrote;

"and he suddenly turned to me with a smile on his face that grew wider as he spoke,'I just realized something about this song that I started writing a while ago about someone I was imagining. And now I’m looking at you here, and I don’t have to imagine her anymore— you’re right here in front of me, you’re my real uptown girl."

Christie Brinkley's memoir was released on April 29, 2025. The book is approximately 416 pages (varies according to format) and is available in paperback, audiobook, hardcover, and eBook format. The book has mostly positive views, with some negative views.

Christie Brinkley is best known for modelling for publications such as Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Harper's Bazaar, Yardley of London, and Vogue Patterns, among others. She was also later modeled by Cosmopolitan and Nu Skin.

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Alongside her modelling career, she has also featured in TV shows such as Parks and Recreation, The Masked Singer, and The Goldbergs as well as films such as National Lampoon's Vacation.

Christie Brinkley also has her own skin care products, eyewear line, hair extension fashion line, and sparkling wine label. Alongside Billy Joel, she was also married to Jean-François Allaux, Richard Taubman, and Peter Halsey Cook. She also has 3 children in total, including one daughter with Billy Joel, one son with Richard Taubman, and one with Peter Halsey Cook.

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