Christie Brinkley revealed she was nearly brought to tears while recording the audiobook of her memoir, Uptown Girl, which recounts her tumultuous childhood, four marriages, and multiple near-death experiences.
As she reflected on the emotional process of reading her story aloud, the iconic model, 71, admitted that sharing such personal chapters of her life was profoundly moving.
‘There were parts where I thought, “Please don’t cry,”‘ the mother-of-three told Social Life Magazine.
She continued: ‘I tried to keep [my voice] level, but [the publisher] let me be. Let my voice crack. Let it show.’
Among the most painful to reflect on was recalling the moment she learned that her then-husband, Peter Cook, was having an affair.
In her book, the actress recalled the shocking way she discovered the architect’s infidelity, which she confessed ‘nearly broke’ her.
Christie Brinkley revealed she was almost driven to tears while recording the audio version of her memoir, Uptown Girl; seen in April 2025
The Vogue cover girl revealed that a man, who she did not know, approached her to share the bombshell revelation right before she was set to deliver a commencement address at Southampton High School.
She went on to describe how the man softly told her: ‘Excuse me. I need to tell you that arrogant husband of yours has been having an affair with my teenage daughter.’
‘I knew from Peter’s face that he was guilty, and in that moment, I thought I was going to pass out onstage, in front of hundreds of people,’ Brinkley remembered.
After she stood back up and asked the man for his card, the Michigan native said he ‘didn’t have one’ but that he was a ‘police officer’ so all she had to do was come down to the station for the full story.
‘I was so stunned that I froze,’ Brinkley wrote. ‘When your whole world falls apart and you realize in a heartbeat you’ve suddenly become the cliché middle-aged woman whose husband is having an affair with a much (much) younger woman, what do you do?’
Ultimately, she shared that she did get the ‘full story’ and told Cook to pack his bags.
He, ultimately, admitted to the affair allegations during a 2008 interview with ABC News.
Meanwhile, she avoided talking about her ex at all costs, except when ‘ambushed’ about the story on the Today Show, despite insisting she ‘wasn’t interested in airing dirty laundry.’
While reflecting on reading her story out loud, the legendary model, 71, admitted that sharing her experience was deeply emotional, particularly the end of her fourth marriage; pictured in 2000 with ex Peter Cook
As she navigated the devastating news of his cheating, Brinkley leaned on her female friends, two of whom convinced her to search their family computer for more proof.
With her pals by her side, the trio unearthed a ‘labyrinth’ of files and evidence.
‘A panoply of incriminating photos and porn accounts populated the screen like fireworks, and before I knew it, my printer was shooting [beaver shots] out into the room,’ she detailed in her book.
She continued: ‘It was so insane that it was almost funny and soon enough, the three of us were doubled over in laughter, as printouts of girls in X-rated poses began piling up on the floor faster than trash outside a greasy takeaway.’
!['There were parts where I thought, "Please don¿t cry,"' the mother-of-three told Social Life Magazine. 'I tried to keep [my voice] level, but [the publisher] let me be. Let my voice crack. Let it show'](https://www.americanpolibeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/1753045827_978_Christie-Brinkley-details-devastating-heartbreak-that-nearly-broke-her.jpg)
‘There were parts where I thought, “Please don’t cry,”‘ the mother-of-three told Social Life Magazine. ‘I tried to keep [my voice] level, but [the publisher] let me be. Let my voice crack. Let it show’
Among the most painful to reflect on was recalling the moment she learned that her then-husband, Peter Cook, was having an affair (seen in 1999)
Later, she wrote about their explosive, six-year court battle, which left her questioning the worth of getting a prenup.
‘It was exhausting and scary because I always lived in fear of them taking my kids because that was the constant threat and a terrifying thing to live with,’ she explained. ‘I got a prenup so I didn’t have to go through all this but still did. It was mind boggling and it was hard to write about.’
In order to protect herself, Brinkley admitted that she ‘didn’t say anything to anybody’ about Cook, until declaring people should ‘google a narcissist’ while leaving court one day.
The remark prompted letters from other women to pour in, with many saying: ‘Thank you. I realize other women are going through it. I’m not alone.’
In her book, the actress recalled the shocking way she discovered the architect’s infidelity, which she confessed ‘nearly broke’ her; seen in 1998
‘There were many times when I wondered if I would ever recover,’ she said of her heartbreak. ‘Whenever I felt this, I stopped, looked inward and counted my blessings, which was a long list that always started with Alexa Ray, Jack, and Sailor.’
As for how her kids feel about her sharing her experience, the author insists her children are very supportive.
‘They said it’s your story to tell, so tell it,’ she said of how Alexa Ray, 39, Jack, 29, and Sailor, 26, feel about it.
Brinkley and Cook married in September 1996, not long after her divorce from Richard Taubman in 1995.
During their marriage, he adopted her son, Jack, whom she shared with Taubman, and they welcomed their daughter Sailor Brinkley Cook in 1998.
She shares her daughter, Alexa Ray, with second husband, musician Billy Joel.
The Vogue cover girl revealed that a man, who she did not know, approached her to share the bombshell revelation right before she was set to deliver a commencement address (pictured in 2025)
In 2009, Brinkley told reporters during her divorce trial that she forgave her ex’s lover, who was just a teenager, at the time of their affair.
‘I can’t help but think of Diana Bianchi,’ the model said as she left the courtroom. ‘I want her and her family to know that I feel for her. I forgive her — she was manipulated.’
During her court testimony, she recalled ‘driving away’ from her ‘perfect life’ to get answers about her then-husband’s affair.
‘It was beyond your wildest nightmare one could ever imagine,’ she said. ‘He’s cheating on me with a teenager. He’s trolling the Internet [for porn].’
Brinkley continued: ‘I felt like the man who I was living with, I just didn’t know who he was… anymore. Who is he? Who is this man who comes down and sits at the dining room table and acts like he’s been at work?’
Brinkley, 70, pictured with her daughter Sailor Cook
Last year, Brinkley stated she was open to romance, but is okay without it.
In an interview with People, ahead of her 70th birthday, the beauty said when it comes to finding love, ‘there just doesn’t seem to be anybody out there.’
‘At the same time,’ she continued. ‘I am pretty comfortable with my life the way it is, so, que será, será!’
‘I always said my whole life that I think that you have to be happy alone so that you get with a man for the right reasons and you’re not clinging to him because you need to, you know?’ Brinkley added.
Meanwhile, Cook, 66, tied the knot with his wife Alba Jancou, 24, in September 2023.
Cook, 66, has since moved on with his wife Alba Jancou, who was 19 when they first met
The couple met when Alba was 19 at a swanky New York restaurant, but did not allegedly start dating until a year later.
When asked by Social Life Magazine about how it felt to see Uptown Girl land on the best-seller list, Brinkley gushed that she ‘cried.’
‘I had thought this book might just sit on shelves,’ she says. ‘I worried it would embarrass my kids. But people bought it. They loved it.’
In addition to her split from Cook, she reflected on her divorce from Billy Joel and her 1994 helicopter accident, which almost killed her and five others in Telluride, Colorado.
