"Uptown Girl" Christie Brinkley is officially rid of "Butthead Boy," aka her former husband, Peter Cook. She gets full custody of the kids, and decision-making power for them, which she said was all she wanted. She also gets to keep the 18 Hamptons homes she owns. (Yes, 18. Supermodeling pays pretty good, I guess.)
Cook had wanted some of the homes since he had advised her to buy them, but he didn't get them. He did get a lump sum payment of $2.1 million, which probably isn't that much, but in my opinion is more than he deserved. They'll also sell the family boat, which is named Sweet Freedom, and split the profits. (Rich people have more interesting stuff to split up in a divorce; if I ever split with my wife, we'd be fighting over the couch and TV.) Brinkley will give her share to charity, Cook will use his half to "make it rain" at a Long Island strip club. (OK, I made that last one up. Christie is giving hers to a domestic violence shelter. No idea what Cook will do with his.)
Nobody really came off well in this trial, although Cook's lawyer was more obnoxious by trying to paint Brinkley as a bitter ex-spouse who just wanted to drag Petey through the mud. She is the one who wanted the trial to be public, and was definitely dramatic, but it's hard to be too mad at her considering his behavior. The press at least sided with Christie throughout, which I agree with. A court-appointed psychiatrist said that "both parents were in need of counseling to deal with their personal issues… [Brinkley] needs to examine her taste in men and…Cook is a narcissist with a bottomless ego." Of the two, having bad taste in men is the lesser sin.
If you're wondering why I'm slamming Cook so hard, it's because he cheated on his wife, repeatedly, with an 18-year-old, in houses that she owned. He then paid her $300,000 to keep quiet. During the trial, the media reports (which could be biased but they were consistent) described him as not terribly guilt-ridden about his actions. Maybe that's the "bottomless ego" the court shrink was talking about.
Ah, Christie. You and Billy Joel should've stayed together. At least he wrote nice songs about you.
source/image: 1010 Wins
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