How Much Did Christie Brinkley Walk Away With In Her Divorce From Peter Cook?
Christie Brinkley and her ex-husband, Peter Cook, went through some rough times at the end of their relationship. The supermodel married the architect in 1996, but the pair called it quits in 2008 (though they did not finalize their divorce until 20012) after a scandal rocked their world. In 2006, news broke that Cook cheated on Brinkley with a woman who worked for him, via ABC News. If that wasn't enough salt in the wound, the scandal caused plenty of controversy, seeing as Cook's lover was only 19 years old at the time.
In an interview with the New York Post, Cook's employee, Diana Bianchi, slammed him over the affair after revealing they met at a toy store before Cook offered her a job at his office. "He first physically made advances at me, probably around a month after I started working there. He just started being physically around me more and physically closer to me more," she said, later adding that she was just a tool "of his little game."
In 2012, Brinkley broke her silence in a "Today" interview, via Us Weekly. "Since the day that he realized that I wasn't coming back, there has been a real character assassination going on. I asked for and got a confidentiality agreement with the original divorce," she told the outlet. Ultimately, the split was messy and it seemed to drag on forever. It also cost the model a lot of cash, though she gained some real estate.
Christie Brinkley lost money, but gained property
Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook duked it out in court. After their split, the power couple had a lot of assets to divvy up between the two of them. But, according to ABC News, the model was happy with how things turned out, and a source shared that the settlement was "good for Christie." After lengthy negotiations, Brinkley shelled out $2.1 million to Cook but still walked away with many other things — including custody of their children. Brinkley also got to keep an impressive 18 vacation properties between the Hamptons and Turks and Caicos, which likely totals much more than the $2.1 million she lost in the settlement. And the lump sum of cash was a slight drop in the bucket for the model. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Brinkley is worth an impressive $100 million, so what's a mere $2.1 million?
Many followed as the couple's ugly divorce battle raged on in court, and even though Brinkley and Cook called it quits in 2008, it wasn't until 2012 that they settled. "I had a prenup, a confidentiality agreement, and a 'civility clause' that all cost a lot of money, but were for all intensive purposes ignored and useless against the extended character assignation and extortion attempts I have endured," Brinkley wrote in a lengthy statement on Facebook following the settlement, according to CBS News. The supermodel didn't mince words, referring to Cook as a "narcissist." Yep, things were pretty bad.
Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook are both close with their daughter
Things didn't end well with Peter Cook, but they share an amazing gift in daughter Sailor Brinkley Cook. Peter also adopted Brinkley's son, Jack Brinkley Cook, though Jack was the product of Brinkley's relationship with Richard Taubman. The model also shares another daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, with ex Billy Joel and it's easy to see that the kids are the apples of Brinkley's eye. The mother of three frequently shares images and sweet captions dedicated to them on social media, including in an adorable 2022 post. "I have two daughters, so I feel double lucky," she wrote in an Instagram post that captured a photo of herself and her two daughters. "The important thing here is I'm in-between my two, which is the sweetest thing a mom can do. They're my salt n'pepper, my yin and yang, and hanging with them is my favorite thang!" Brinkley also made sure to give a shoutout to her son Jack, who was not pictured.
Like with her mother, Sailor also shares a close relationship with her Peter. "Despite the bitter breakup between Peter and Christie, Sailor has a very close relationship with her dad," a source dished to People in 2019. "She always raves about him. But she has not said a word to anybody about his personal life or the new girlfriend," the insider added of Cook's engagement to Alba Jancou. By the way, Jancou was only 21 years old — Sailor's age — when they got engaged.