Christie Brinkley, the iconic model and entrepreneur, is re-evaluating her understanding of soulmates following four marriages. In a recent interview with Social Life magazine, Brinkley, 72, shared that while she remains a believer in soulmates, her perspective has evolved.
"I don't know if they last forever in the way that I thought they would," Brinkley told the publication. "I also believe that soulmates can transform and still be soulmates even though it’s not the romantic soulmate anymore."
Brinkley has been married four times. Her first marriage was to French artist Jean-François Allaux in 1975, which ended in divorce in 1981. She was then briefly married to real estate developer Richard Taubman from 1994 to 1995. Her marriage to musician Billy Joel lasted from 1985 to 1994, and her marriage to architect Peter Cook concluded in 2008 after a highly publicized divorce.
Reflecting on her past relationships, Brinkley admitted to being "a fool for love" and "too trusting." She explained that while she hasn't felt unlovable, some of the relationships themselves made her feel unloved.
"I wasn’t loved correctly," she stated. "One loved my money more than me. Another loved his drink more than me. Another loved young women more than me. And in my first one, I loved my freedom more than him."
Regarding her first husband, Allaux, Brinkley described it as "love at first sight," but her marriage ended in a "slow dissolve" as she began to feel "constrained" and "tied down." She admitted to marrying too young and regretting being "stuck."
Her marriage to Billy Joel, whom she called the one who "loved his drink more than me," was also discussed. Brinkley noted in her memoir, "Uptown Girl," that "booze was the other woman" and that if they had been older, they might have navigated the challenges differently.
She identified Richard Taubman as the ex-husband who "loved my money more than me," calling him a "larger-than-life character" whose relationship with her was complicated by her pregnancy and her recent divorce from Joel.
Brinkley's marriage to Peter Cook ended due to his affair, which she described as "one of the most tormented experiences I’ve ever had." She expressed a desire to protect her children from the "fallout" and the "agony" of the prolonged divorce.
Despite these experiences, Brinkley finds a sense of freedom and contentment with age.
"I think that with age you get… freer," she told Social Life. "You do what you wanna do when you wanna do it. I think that there’s a freedom that comes with age and that’s quite wonderful. … You know what you like. You know what you don’t like. And you don’t feel like you have to put up with the stuff that you don’t like anymore."
She added that her life has had "a million ups and downs, highs and lows, tragedies and scandals," but she remains "grateful for wherever I am in the moment." Brinkley stated, "I always say that I’m happiest in the moment."
Brinkley has not given up on the possibility of future romance, saying that "if there's a romantic love that comes along as well, it would be wonderful." However, she also feels "very content and happy with the life that I have right now" and considers her life to be "very full of love."