One year after a nasty divorce trial, supermodel Christie Brinkley shares how she stay strong for her kids and manages to look fabulous – at 55. Excerpts from her Ladies’ Home Journal interview, on newsstands June 9, follow:
About last year’s awful divorce proceedings: “I feel like I should apologize to everybody for them having to read all that tawdry stuff, and having it delivered to their kitchen tables when their kids are around, you know?”
And her takeaway: “I would never get married again. With what I know I don’t see why anyone would get married.” Which is not to say she is not a romantic. “I totally believe in true love. And I think couples should celebrate their love over and over again.” But, she adds, they don’t need to formalize it. “In fact, right at the beginning of a relationship, I would formalize an exit strategy.”
About accusations that she kept the trial open to the public without considering the feelings of her kids: “Maybe I can try to clear this up. Divorce courts in New York are always open to the public. I didn’t want special treatment.”
About being man-shy: “I haven’t always followed my own advice, but I’ve always believed that you’ve got to be whole before starting with someone new. You’ve got to find that inner peace. I’d have to feel, ‘Okay, the time is right to be open to that again.”
Still, she’s close to ex-husband Billy Joel: “Billy’s great. He’s godfather to Jack and Sailor, and you know there have been times when I have had to spend time with lawyers or whatever and he’s babysat. He lives nearby, so he’s like, ‘Sen ‘em over here!’”
About how she stays so fit: “Well, I don’t have a mirror in the gym. I don’t try to get as buff as Madonna. I don’t have that kind of interest to put into it, but I do work out.