Why does Christie Brinkley believe ‘Forever’ may not suit modern marriage? Reasons explored

Christie Brinkley thinks the idea of marriage lasting “forever” may not fit today's generation. She spoke about this on the “Are You a Charlotte?” podcast on August 7, 2025. She said,

"You could get married, like, ‘We’ll see if you want to renew it in five years,’ Every five years, go, ‘Do you want to renew?’ That way, if you’re getting bored or whatever, you can get out of it without all the lawyers and all that stuff."

This idea seems new, but Brinkley has shared much from her own life that comes from her lessons in love. She has been married four times and knows how hard it can be when love does not last. She calls herself a “fool for love.” She further said,

"I’m too trusting. I’m a fool for love. That love takes work. Sometimes you need to rely on experts. I wish I could have found ways to save some; I wish I hadn’t married others."

She also talked about dating in a new way. Her daughter, Sailor, put Brinkley on a dating app as a joke, even without her knowing, and found that many of the same men matched with both of them, despite their 44-year age difference.

What did Christie Brinkley say she learned from her marriages?

Christie Brinkley says her four marriages taught her a lot. She said,

"the relationships I was in made me feel unloved, that in the right arms, I’m lovable."

She was young in her first marriage and felt tied down and missed her freedom. Her second marriage was to Billy Joel. She says it started with love, but pressure and drinking made things hard. She said,

"I don’t think it’s a secret that his drinking got pretty bad, and he couldn’t really remember what he did when he was drinking, so he didn’t really know how he could hurt people,"

She further added,

"One night, we had an argument and I said, ‘I really can’t take this anymore, and I’m just going to take Alexa back up to New York and leave, and he said, ‘Yeah, fine, go."

Her third marriage was short. She said,

"Ricky was a larger-than-life character who married me for my money. Our relationship was complicated by the fact that I was pregnant, and I wanted to make the right decisions."

For her fourth husband, she said,

"I was married to a stranger who had other lives. I had three children. I wanted to protect them from the fallout and from their life being blown apart. The divorce lasted for years. It was agonizing.”

Why “renew every five years” makes sense to Christie Brinkley?

Christie Brinkley says that a five-year renewal could help marriage feel real, fair, and flexible. She said in today's world, marriages might feel like

"hard to keep that connection going."

She also said,

"I always believed in soul mates. I thought I had four of them. Now I’m not sure."

Christie Brinkley says that “forever” in marriage may not fit modern life. Her idea of renewing a marriage every five years comes from real trials, heartbreak, and growth.

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