However, Joel and Brinkley's marriage had major challenges. He also wrote "This Is the Time" for her - a song that imagines a couple reminiscing about their best days together. The couple married in 1985 and Joel's album An Innocent Man was inspired by his relationship with Brinkley. Joel couldn't believe his luck, and although he briefly dated MacPherson, it was Brinkley who ultimately won his heart. When 33-year-old Joel returned to his Central Park penthouse in New York, he was shocked to see that MacPherson, who was just 19, and Brinkley, 28, were competing for his affections. He began playing at a piano bar, and it was there he met supermodels Elle MacPherson, Christie Brinkley and an up-and-coming singer, Whitney Houston. Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty ImagesĪfter his divorce from Weber, Joel went to St. “What a family to pick.” Supermodel Christie Brinkley inspired "This Is the Time" and the album 'An Innocent Man'Ĭhristie Brinkley and Billy Joel in 1990. “I hooked up with the Borgias!” Joel said in his official biography. Later, the singer discovered Frank that had secretly stolen tens of millions from him, causing Joel to sue Weber for $30 million in compensatory damages and $60 million in punitive damages, according to the Los Angeles Times. One year, for Weber's birthday, Joel wrote her the song “Just the Way You Are,” and after he played it for her she said, "Do I get the publishing, too?"īefore the couple divorced in 1982, Joel made the grave mistake of allowing Weber's brother, Frank, also work for him. While Joel was madly in love with Weber and wrote the songs “She’s Got a Way” and “She’s Always a Woman" for her, Weber had no shame in directly asking him if she'd receive earnings on the backend for being his muse. She convinced him to let her manage him, and the couple married in 1973. The two began having an affair, but Weber ended up leaving both men, causing Joel, then aged 21, to become suicidal he even wound up in a mental institution for a few weeks, according to the New York Times.Įventually, Joel got back with Weber. Her independence and straight-talking style made Joel smitten from the start. Joel met Weber when she was married to his bandmate Jon Small in 1970. Here are the love stories behind some of Joel's famous tunes: “Just the Way You Are,” “She’s Got a Way” and “She’s Always a Woman” were inspired by Elizabeth WeberĮlizabeth Weber and Billy Joel Photo: David Mcgough/DMI/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Imagesįalling in love with and marrying his first wife, Weber, was arguably the costliest relationship Joel ever had. Yet despite having his heart broken, Joel has managed to be on good terms with each of his ex-wives: Elizabeth Weber (married from 1973-1982), Christie Brinkley (married from 1985-1994) and Katie Lee (2004-2010). Three divorces later, Joel decided to walk down the aisle once again in 2015 to his fourth wife, former hedge fund manager, Alexis Roderick. I can even try to achieve it again, and often have.” I used to wonder: How come I don’t have that? I can dream about it, think about it, write music and lyrics and sing about it. "I see old folks walking down the street who look like they’ve been together 50 years, and there’s something very touching about it - that they’ve lasted so long. “You just need one - one person out of millions - to know and accept and love you for being, well, just the way you are," he told Schruers. However, he was very good at spinning his heartache into chart-topping hits, and despite his romantic failures, Joel remains hopeful. But without love “it doesn’t mean a goddamn thing.”Įven though Joel has reached the upper echelons of status, wealth and celebrity, the singer admits that the one thing he struggles with is love. “You can have all the money in the world, you can have mansions, you can have properties, you can have yachts, you can have limousines, you can have motorcycles,” Billy Joel told his official biographer Fred Schruers.
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