What happened in Billy Joel and Elizabeth Weber’s marriage?

Elizabeth Weber's recent appearance at the premiere of the HBO documentary on Billy Joel has created quite a buzz amongst fans. She was the first wife of Billy and acted as the creative catalyst in his life and helped Joel make some of the most enduring songs in American pop music history. She had a big part to play in Billy Joel's ascent to the top, as the HBO documentary attests.

Their relationship began under circumstances that were less than ideal, since Weber was still married at the time to Billy Joel’s Attila bandmate and best friend, Jon Small. They started an affair and this turned into a love triangle with serious consequences later. When Small caught wind of the situation, he confronted Joel and ended up punching him in a heated moment.

The guilt weighed so heavily on the young Billy Joel that he attempted suicide twice during this period - this was a dark chapter in his life that would later inform the emotional depth of his songwriting. Elizabeth Weber leaving him during this turbulent phase also played a part in his descent into depression, but she would later return to help him in his recovery.

Joel would go on to marry Weber in a small ceremony held in 1973, also becoming a stepfather to Sean-Weber Small in the process. His best friend, Jon Small, would later go on to forgive him.

Billy Joel's marriage to Elizabeth Weber

Billy Joel's marriage to Elizabeth Weber turned out to be a star-making turn for the musician, as he transformed from an aspiring musician into a rock star quickly. Weber helped Joel throughout his journey to becoming a star and served as his business manager as well, with her business acumen coming in handy several times. Several of Joel’s songs were inspired by Weber like She’s Got a Way, She’s Always a Woman, and Just the Way You Are.

However, despite the overwhelming positive results professionally, their relationship suffered from problems owing to Joel’s addiction issues, his rising fame, and problems that came with mixing professional and personal lives. These issues were compounded by family disputes as well, which later led to Billy Joel launching a lawsuit against Elizabeth's brother, Frank Weber, who was accused of gazumping his money while acting as his business manager.

A serious motorcycle accident requiring surgery on both of Joel’s hands became the breaking point of their marriage, with Elizabeth reportedly asking Billy Joel to sign documents transferring his assets to her while he lay on his hospital bed. A divorce followed soon after, in 1982. In a recent interview recorded in the HBO documentary, she elaborated on the reasons why she decided to part ways with her husband of 9 years:

"I wasn't asking him to change, but I just did not want to live like that. My response to it was to get a place in New York City where you can enjoy anonymity — so it wasn’t so much as we separated, but we started to get a little bit isolated from one another and I also knew that he wasn't in a good place. We were all under a lot of stress. All of us dealt with our stresses in different ways. And so there was a lot, a lot of alcohol use and eventually a lot of drug use."

She then went on to add:

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"I would've stayed, I would've been able — like so many women before me — to make that accommodation for someone you love, but there was no way that I could stand by and watch him kill himself," Weber said. "I just didn't have that in me. And I felt very strongly that that’s what was going."

Although the divorce did not happen on friendly terms, the two still look back fondly on the time they spent together. Since her divorce, Elizabeth Weber has rarely been seen in the public eye, however, reports did surface back in 1997 that she had sold the mansion Billy gifted her for $3.4 million. Billy Joel, on the other hand, has married three times after Weber, including his current wife Alexis Roderick, with whom he shares two daughters.

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