Billy Joel And So It Goes: Christie Brinkley reveals the big reason that led to divorce from singer in HBO documentary

Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley opened up about their relationship and how it ended with a divorce in the second part of the "Vienna" singer’s HBO Max documentary, Billy Joel: And So It Goes. Joel and Brinkley were married for nine years and welcomed daughter Alexa. The two exes also discussed when they first started dating and "discovering romance and love" for the first time.

In part two of his HBO documentary, Billy Joel: And So It Goes, which aired on Friday, July 25, 2025 (Friday), both Joel and Brinkley recall the early days of their relationship. Following their marriage, the couple was together for nine years, after which they separated.

Billy Joel And So It Goes: Brinkley reflects upon divorce

In the HBO documentary, Brinkley threw light upon an argument she had with her ex-husband Joel that led to the end of their marriage. The model married Joel in 1985. She further stated that the singer’s excessive drinking and their limited time together while he was on his two-year-long River of Dreams tour pushed their relationship to its limit in 1994.

“I don’t think it’s a secret that his drinking got pretty bad,” Brinkley said in the second installment of Joel’s HBO documentary, Billy Joel: And So It Goes, as quoted by Entertainment Weekly. “And he couldn’t really remember what he did when he was drinking, and so he didn’t really know how he could hurt people,” she added.

The pair met in St. Barts in 1983 during a vacation. Back then, they were both living in New York City and decided to stay in touch. They went on their first "real date" to a Beach Boys concert following their return to the city.

"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, 76, was quoted by PEOPLE as saying in the film. "I wrote a lot of songs for her. She was a muse," he added. "It was like being a teenager all over again. Experiencing those same emotions that I had when I was first discovering romance and love," he continued

Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley's early days in relationship

Reflecting on their "whirlwind romance," Brinkley, 71, who welcomed daughter Alexa with Joel in 1985, said that their first few years together were "just so much fun."

Brinkley also recalled one of their final fights in the doc, saying he'd been drinking and she was going to leave with their daughter for New York. "He said, 'Yeah, fine, go.' I tried. I wanted it to work," the model said, as quoted by PEOPLE. "I knew how lucky I was, having music and all of that. But it just didn't work," she said.

Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley: Life after separation

Following their divorce, Joel and Brinkley have remained close friends and co-parents. In August 2024, Joel sang "Uptown Girl" to Brinkley during his concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Grammy winner has been happily married to his wife, Alexis, since 2015, and they share two daughters: Della, 9, and Remy, 7. Billy Joel: And So It Goes is streaming on HBO Max.