Billy Joel Was 'Devastated' by His Split From Christie Brinkley

Billy Joel reflected on his romance with Christie Brinkley and how "devastated" he was when it came to an end. 

The music icon opened up about their relationship in part two of his HBO documentary "Billy Joel: And So It Goes." The pair met in 1983 while vacationing in St. Barts in the Caribbean, according to People. They were living in New York at the time and decided to stay in touch, going on their first "real date" to a Beach Boys concert. 

"Here I am dating this beautiful supermodel and ... me? I'm from Hicksville. What am I doing with her? What's she doing with me? But that was a very productive time for me," Joel said in the documentary, according to People. "I wrote a lot of songs for her. She was a muse."

He continued, "It was like being a teenager all over again. Experiencing those same emotions that I had when I was first discovering romance and love."

The first few years with Brinkley, who welcomed daughter Alexa Joel with Bill Joel, were "just so much fun." But cracks began to show by 1989. Also appearing in the documentary, Brinkley said the "unraveling" began with Billy Joel "boomeranging between being a family man and tortured artist" who'd often disappear to drink. 

Compounding matters was his conflict with then-manager Frank Weber. It later came to light that Weber allegedly mishandled Joel's finances, prompting the artist to file a $90 million lawsuit in 1989 for fraud and breach of contract. Although the case was settled, Joel had to make up for the financial losses by adding more dates to his touring schedule, which kept him away from home.

"I was in a relationship with someone who I cared deeply about. But I was not able to be at home. I was not able to be with my family. It was a very sad time for me," Joel said. "I realized love is not concrete. You feel like it is, but there are things eating away at it. And in the end, it all catches up. It's hard. I was so devastated."

During the documentary, Brinkley recalled one of their final fights, which was exacerbated by Joel's drinking and her threats of leaving with their daughter. 

"He said, 'Yeah, fine, go.' I tried. I wanted it to work," she said. "I knew how lucky I was, having music and all of that. But it just didn't work."

Joel, 76, and Brinkley, 71, ended their nine-year marriage in 1994, but the two remain friends and co-parents. 

The Grammy-winning artist has been married to Alexis Joel, with whom he shares daughters Della (9) and Remy (7), since 2015. 

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