"Shattered" Brinkley Takes Stand in Divorce Trial
Dealing with the fallout of her husband’s betrayal didn’t feel like a death to just Christie Brinkley, it felt like one to her friends, too.
The erstwhile cover girl took the stand during the second day of testimony in her public divorce trial from philandering architect Peter Cook Thursday, testifying as to her confrontation with Cook and subsequent reaction after learning of his affair with an 18-year-old staffer.
“I just said to Peter, ’How could you?’ ” she said on the stand, making her testimony all the more poignant by choosing that moment to look at Cook head-on for the first time in the two-day trial.
Brinkley further testified that she learned of her husband’s affair with Diana Bianchi from the teen’s police officer stepfather, Brian Platt. He had informed Brinkley of her husband’s infidelity moments before she was to speak at a local schoolan incident she referred to as “the day my world was completely shattered.”
“I turned to look at Peter,” she said. “His face was so tense…He was saying, ’No.’ I thought, ’Oh my god. It’s true. He did it.’ I knew from his face. It explained the feelings I’d been trying not to feel.”
When she further confronted Cook with the man’s claims, Brinkley said he asked her, “You’re not going to believe that man over me, are you?”
Brinkley said the couple’s now 10-year-old son was with them at the time and that she “saw little Jack’s face looking at his dad, the man and me. I thought, I am going to pass out.”
At that point, she asked Cook to take her home so as not to break down in public. After they arrived, she quickly left again on her own.
“I was just in shock,” she said. “I just started driving away from my perfect life. I thought I had the picket fence. We were happy.”
In addition to the shock of it all, Brinkley said her initial reaction was “to get to the bottom of this. I need to know.”
Prior to Brinkley taking the stand at Central Islip Supreme Court, her close friend and Today entertainment correspondent Jill Rappaport testified to Brinkley’s depressed state following the June 25, 2006, argument that led to the disintegration of the couple’s marriage.
Rappaport said she found Brinkley pulled over on the side of a public road.
“When I got there, Christie was lying on the ground huddled over with her hands on her knees. I thought she had died,” Rappaport said. “She was sobbing…almost catatonic. I grabbed her by the shoulders, and she said, ’Can you believe this? Please tell me this is a nightmare.’ “
Later, Brinkley also addressed Cook’s witness stand confession that he spent $3,000 per month on pay Internet porn sites during their 10-year marriage.
“I found conversations of him trying to lure girls, saying he would take them shopping, saying he would pay them if he could see their face.
“I felt really stupid. Why didn’t I know? Why wasn’t I aware of this? I felt humiliated. I felt shattered. I just felt grief-stricken.”
Brinkley said she confronted Cook about her findings and “he said it was an abberation, something he was only into now because of the guys in the office.”
During a recess, Cook belittled Brinkley’s tearful testimony, “Shrek was more believable,” he quipped, per Newsday.
Roughly 30 witnesses are expected to take the stand in the case, which will run about four weeks.
The first day of testimony yesterday featured Brinkley’s daughter with Billy Joel, Alexa Ray Joel, as well as Bianchi and Cook, who did his fair share of bawling during his time on the stand.
D-Day Arrives for Christie Brinkley
Somehow, “messy” just doesn’t seem to cover it.
The divorce trial of Christie Brinkley and her soon-to-be-ex fourth husband is shaping up to be ugly as both parties appear in a Long Island courtroom this morning for the first day of proceedings, including a supporting turn by the other woman.
The 54-year-old former cover girl filed for divorce from 49-year-old architect Peter Cook in 2006, after 10 years of marriage, following reports he had carried on an affair with then-18-year-old staffer Diana Bianchiwhich he later confirmed in an open letter to the New York Post.
Wasting no time on courtroom pleasantries, or closed courtrooms, Bianchi is expected to be among the first witnesses to take the stand.
Instead of the de rigueur celeb practice of closing courtrooms and sealing even the most innocuous documents, this case will be open for public consumption.
Last month, Brinkley opposed a legal move (backed by Cook) that would have closed the proceedings. As a result, the Central Islip Supreme Court took the precaution of moving the case to a larger courtroom than planned in anticipation of a swarm of press.
Judging by this morning’s crowd, it was not an unwise move.
“So much has already been in the press about what happened,” Brinkley’s attorney, Robert Stephan Cohen, said. “We believe the only way to get at the truth is through an open courtroom. Mr. Cook shouldn’t be embarrassed. If he is, it’s his own fault.”
A second woman, Carri Lyn Ciamarra, is also set to take the stand in the early days of the trial. The 31-year-old fitness model, who was and still is married, will testify that she too carried on an affair with Cook last year.
While the finer details of the disintegration of their marriage have more or less already been dissected ad nauseum by the press, Cook’s infidelity, while sure to grab the most headlines, is not at the crux of the trial.
As the couple had the foresight to hammer out a prenuptial agreement in their relationship’s salad days, the trial will serve to determine custody, not financial, matters.
Brinkley’s 12-year-old son, Jack, with previous husband Richard Taubman, was adopted by Cook during the course of their marriage. They also have a biologicial, 9-year-old daughter, Sailor.
Both are seeking primary custody of the kids.
“He wants custody,” said Cook’s attorney, Norman Sheresky. “He thinks he’s the better parent.”
Brinkley’s team, as expected, heartily disagrees.
“All this publicity has been generated by Peter’s abysmal behavior. The notion that he’s a candidate for custody is beyond anything.”
In addition to the children, the trial will also serve to determine the division of some of the couple’s joint property, including three boats and real estate.
The proceedings are expected to last roughly four weeks.
Christie Brinkley’s Divorce to Have Its Close-Up
Christie Brinkley was never one to turn down a cover story.
A New York judge ruled Friday that the former supermodel’s divorce proceedings will remain open to the media, despite her soon-to-be ex-husband’s objections that their kids could suffer from the 24/7 news cycle once the couple’s dirty laundry hits the proverbial public clothesline.
“The required high burden of compelling reasons to close the courtroom has not been met,” Supreme Court Justice Mark D. Cohen wrote in his five-page decision.
“Open courtrooms, in general and in divorce actions, may provide a basis for societal education.”
Court transcripts and most records will remain sealed, however, because this is a family court case.
“We are pleased with the judge’s decision and wish this didn’t happen. Since the case hasn’t been able to be resolved, Ms. Brinkley looks forward to her day in court,” Brinkley attorney Robert S. Cohen said after court, per Newsday.
Not that Brinkley is really looking forward to dumping her private life into a fishbowl (again), however.
“I still remain hopeful that these matters can be settled privately,” the 54-year-old cover girl said in a statement today.
Brinkley filed for divorce from her admitted philanderer of a husband, architect Peter Cook, in September 2006 after 10 years of marriage after Cook admitted to having affairs with two teenage girls, including his then-17-year-old office assistant and singer Samantha Cole, who told the New York Post she was just 18 when her dalliance with Brinkley’s hubby began.
“She’s interested in paying Peter back for the adultery,” Cook’s attorney, Norman Sheresky, said. “That’s what this is all about. I think it’s going to make her look worse.”
“I don’t know of any parent who has made an appeal to keep the court open,” he added.
The estranged duo have one daughter together, Sailor, who will be 10 next month, and Cook adopted Brinkley’s son, Jack, 13, who she had with third husband Richard Taubman.
Marisa Miller Looks Steamy at Guys’ Choice Awards
Marisa Miller Looks Steamy at Guys’ Choice Awards
If there’s one think Spike TV knows how to do, it’s throw a party with a bunch of beautiful women. And Marisa Miller was turning heads at the 2nd Annual Spike TV Guys’ Choice awards over the weekend.
Sony Pictures Studios played host to the event, which took place on Friday, and when the Victoria’s Secret Angel/Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Cover Girl hit the red carpet, they guys started drooling.
Miller sported a black form-fitting plunging neckline halter-style dress with a pair of black heels and a long straightened brown coif.
And besides looking amazing in whatever she wears, Marisa is also an accomplished surfer and volleyball player. Talk about the total package!