This came out a few days ago but I’m just seeing it now, so bear with me if it’s old-ish to you. As background, Christie Brinkley had a very contentious, very public divorce back in 2008. During the divorce proceedings it came out that her ex husband, Peter Cook, had been cheating on her with an 18 year-old girl he hired to work at his architectural firm. Following the divorce, Cook repeatedly played victim, whining and blaming Brinkley for his cheating. Brinkley and Cook actually went several rounds in the press over the years. Brinkley would say something negative about Cook to the media and he would refute it by claiming that she was out to get him. He even did this when she didn’t deign to mention him at all.
So Peter Cook has a well documented history as a philanderer and a whining a-hole, but he somehow landed another hapless wife after Brinkley. The wife, Suzanne Shaw, so thoroughly bought into Cook’s poor me act that she parroted his words to the press that Christie had poisoned the marriage, and even her own marriage to Cook. She said back in 2012 that “the black cloud of Christie Brinkley’s hate (that) has hung over our lives for the five years I have been with Peter and has taken an unhappy toll on me and my daughter’s life.” So it was Christie’s fault that she was having a hard time with Cook. O-kay. Well now Shaw is divorcing Cook too after he predictably cheated on her. She’s also issuing a public apology to Christie:
“Christie and I have talked recently and I have privately apologized to her, but, given the public nature of their divorce and custody battle, I feel a public apology is also appropriate and deserved,” Suzanne Shaw wrote in a letter obtained by The Post Thursday.
Shaw said she was sorry for bad-mouthing the model by saying in 2012 that “it was the black cloud of Christie Brinkley’s hate” that had tainted Shaw’s marriage to Cook — when he had actually been continuing his skirt-chasing ways.
“Christie was wrongly vilified as being an embittered ex-wife,” Shaw wrote. “I now believe she had every right to do what she did by taking a public stand; she was only trying to protect her children and have the truth be told. Given the nature of Peter’s behavior, and battles for sole custody of their children, it was necessary for her to confront him publicly.”
Christie’s six-year marriage to Cook imploded in 2007 after she learned of his affair with 18-year-old office clerk Diana Bianchi. Cook rebounded by getting hitched to Shaw, who stood by his side during his ongoing court battles with Brinkley. During a 2012 hearing, Brinkley tried to warn Shaw about Cook’s infidelity.
“When you find out he’s been cheating on you, I’ll be here for you,” Brinkley said in a courthouse hallway.
“Come up with a new line!” Shaw barked back. It turned out Brinkley was right, and Shaw split with Cook this year, accusing him of cheating.
“What I say here is by my own volition. I truly feel it’s simply the right thing to do. I’m deeply sorry for my part in causing Christie any unnecessary pain,” Shaw writes.
“Unfortunately, I fell under Peter’s spell, but now that the reality of who he is has been revealed, I regret my involvement. Christie is a wonderful mother and community member who involves herself in charitable causes and has truly made a contribution to society.”
“Last week, Christie said, ‘I wish you the courage to do the right thing for yourself, your daughter and countless women suffering at the hand of an extreme narcissist.’ I believe I have done this now. I thank Christie for forgiving me and I wish her only the best.
“I would like to move on with my life now, quietly and privately. Peter and I have filed for divorce. I am putting this behind me.”
I’ve read this before and it bears repeating: when someone you’re dating tells you repeatedly how horrible their ex is, question whether they’re the guilty party. Sometimes people get out of toxic relationships and need to vent, but other people blame their exes for every single negative aspect of their lives, which they perpetuate. The “my ex wife is crazy” trope is so tired and overused. Christie fought for her kids and she fought to have the press understand her side of the divorce. Now Cook’s second wife is going through the same thing, and she has the integrity to apologize for believing Cook’s lies. Good for Shaw, and I wish her the best. That’s got to be painful.
Sidenote: Christie Brinkley is 60 freaking years old. Give me whatever she’s having.
Photo credit: WENN.com
If you’re having what she’s having, then I’ll order you a facelift, because I remember what she looked like when it first happened. That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t look good now, but it wasn’t a magic pill or lifestyle that made the difference in her face.
That’s fine with me as long as I can get the same surgeon, etc. I mean I have a few years left until I get to that point, but seriously.
She looked incredibly jacked immediately after. I can’t imagine the sensation of my face feeling tightly pulled all day and getting used to that, plus the risk of going under to look pretty.
But to each, his own.
My mom had a facelift and it was painful but it settled and she looks great now. I might do it at some point. I have time!
Yeeaaahhh That’s a lot of strategy nips and Tucks But I want in… I want to be part Bionic when i’m her age with a boy toy half my age Plus 7!
Yes, her face looks great now, the facework has settled, she looks good.
At first it was looking a tad pulled, but still good, but you could see the work, now she looks more natural. Great surgeon.
She also has taken great care of herself forever, never putting on great weight gains and always excercizing and eating healthy. She looks fabulous.
I don’t know old his soon-to-be ex wife is, but she’s also a pretty lady. He has good taste. Too bad he can’t respect these lovely women.
i want christie’s plastic surgeon for Christmas. She’s had great work done but she still doesn’t look overly done, unlike KK.
She’s aged well. Very well with the right plastic surgeon.
It’s not just plastic surgery ,it’s her genes too. Her late mother was very pretty and had aged very well too.
^Yes. Christie’s mother was stunning. A natural beauty. Skillful cosmetic surgery plus a great gene pool is why Brinkley looks this good at 60.
I might be confusing her with some other supermodel, but isn’t she fairly strict about what she eats and drinks, too?
Who ever handles her nip/tucks has serious skills, she looks totally fabulous.
Sunscreen ladies. Slather it on, every day!!!
+1. Even in the winter.
Did Brinkley really need to fight to have her side of the divorce out in the public? From the get-go, the details of that breakup were pretty damning to Cook, and she she has a couple of kids with the guy. Did she really have to go on the Today Show a bunch of times? He’s gross, but I’m not exactly a Brinkley fan either.
Yeah, their photos are both posted in the dictionary under the term: Malignant Narcissist, (as far as I see it).
They have one child together. He adopted her son, who was fathered by the guy she left Billy Joel for, who evidently was a scam artist she fell for briefly. Then, she allowed this douche to scam her for years. Her thought process when it comes to men is interesting. Seems like she’d have been so much better off staying with Billy. He was so smitten with her. I’m convinced she’s the reason he went off the rails for a while. Would have been nice to see their marriage withstand the test of time.
I’m not trying to be rude, but is there really a reason that you needed to clarify that only one child was biologically Cook’s? Brinkley and Cook got together when Sailor was very small, and he subsequently adopted her – she is legally his child, from well before any point that she would remember otherwise.
Billy Joel was cheating on Christie while he toured, that’s why they split.
No, no reason other than clarification of history. Sailor is their biological child. The son is the one he adopted.
Her son is the one he adopted. It is relevant because that child was born while she was married to her third husband whose name I can’t remember. That man was the child’s bio and legal father for a while. He had to terminate his rights for Peter Cook to adopt him.
It doesn’t matter if it was the boy or the girl that he adopted, because BOTH of those children are now Cook’s, and by making that implication you’re subtley implying that adoption is ‘less than’ being the bio parent.
Nobody is implying that, but you are missing the point that this is special circumstance of the original father opting out. It actually points in Peter’s favor that he would adopt the son of his wife’s previous husband. Not every man is willing to do that.
Your argument is not the issue. My original point was how flaky Christie’s thought process is with men, and this is how she’s gotten herself into this whole mess. If she had not left Billy, none of this would have happened.
This is just a forum of us expressing our opinion on celebrity lifestyles, and that is my opinion. It doesn’t have to be yours.
I am surprised that you think that raging alcoholic, chronic cheater Billy Joel is the one that got away. He isn’t exactly the exception to Brinkley’s crappy taste in men.
You are incorrect. Christie NEVER EVER went on a tv show to primarily discuss the divorce. Whenever cb was hired for a tv show broadway or a new product, Peter would slither out from under the rock he hid his concubines money under and attack. Matt Lauer on the today show treated CB horribly,.. he was friends with Cook and he had been accused of two affairs of his own,. get the facts straight… on the show he kept pushing Christie and she finally cried and said enough,.. its on youtube look it up
I don’t know where you live, but on local NY news stations, there was constant coverage and she spoke with reporters throughout. I’m not saying I like her ex, but she contributed to the dog and pony show of divorce. It was so bizarre with her chipper smile in contrast to what she was talking about.
I love when honorable people go out of their way to be kind and truthful instead of nasty and oh so bitter!
We’re all missing the point which is Christy -had- to publicly vilify him because he’s emotionally abusive. Would you want this type of man raising your child? This was a custody battle, and she had to get real.
I WANT HER BAG!
Me too! I can’t see the brand. WhT is it?
Isn’t she married to a cosmetic surgeon? Looks like you’d need a lot of fillers and Botox. But yes, I want to know what she uses to keep her pores looking so small!
I’m glad that Shaw was able to apologize privately and publicly.
I don’t think she’s married to anyone right now.
She does seem to pick guys that, for whatever reason, are not what she thought they were. Four divorces by her early 50s.
Didn’t her first husband die in a race car crash, when they were still married?
The guy who died in crash was her fiancee, I think, a wealthy heir to some family european fortune, who raced cars. He was probably about to be her second husband, she married her first husband in france when she was about 19? I think.
I keep thinking champagne heir…..not sure what that means, but I remember the words associated with him somehow….?
Her first husband was French; they divorced. She was dating Moet heir Olivier Chandon when he died in a car crash.
+1 Yes , that’s the guy who died in the crash the Moet Chandon heir.
I feel like media battles can only hurt the kids. I guess celebs believe that winning the media battle will somehow win-over the judge? Or are they just trying to protect their careers at the expense of their kids’ privacy? The ex may be the devil, but to the child, that’s still mom or dad.
As for the apology, it seems mature, even if I can’t help but to think that it is self-serving.
That also for public simpathy and to sway the media to their side.
That’s my take on the situation. It’s all strategy. Divorce strategy. Win in both courts–the legal realm and that of public opinion.
Yes. I’d take anything Shaw says with a grain of salt. I’m not so easy to literarily hug and shake hands with someone who publicly slammed me in an attempt to have my children taken from me. But then I suppose the “forgiving” on Brinkley’s part is probably strategic too. It bolsters her side even if its late. It still promotes her image.
I guess her gold digging with her all of her husbands paid off. She’s very rich and she looks good.
Gold digging ” lol ” peter came with nothing and she paid him Rick Taubman stole 2.9 million from her the only husband with money was billy joel and she was with him forever… she is a hard working women and makes her own money buys her own homes.. billy was years and years ago and that money would not have lasted till now.. self made women stop being jealous
This is so true “I’ve read this before and it bears repeating: when someone you’re dating tells you repeatedly how horrible their ex is, question whether they’re the guilty party. ”
My best friend married a man whose every previous girlfriend had been “crazy.” Turns out dude was a cheating, gambling addicted a-hole.
Sounds like my ex! And somehow I was the crazy one for choosing divorce and a chance for a happy life.
Ugh, I HATE the “my ex was crazy!” thing, too. There is usually a whole lot more to the story, too, IME.
She used the media,but who wouldn’t? This in reference to CB. As far as wife #2- I agree- she trashed her in public, so public apology is fair. All I can say is this guy must be an amazing architect, bec otherwise, who would do business with this sleaze?
He makes my gaydar ping for some reason.
Totes.
I LOVE it when a first wife and a second wife join forces!! Woo freakin hoo!!!!
it’s sad that some people can empathize only when they themselves are on the receiving end of something super $hitty happening.
Yes, but it doesn’t make me sad so much as pissed off. The signs were there, but she wanted what she wanted and the claws came out. Now she’s sorry? I just can’t with that. Makes me think she might have some narcissistic traits herself…which makes me wonder are narcissists atracted to each other? Off to Google. BRB.
“I’ve read this before and it bears repeating: when someone you’re dating tells you repeatedly how horrible their ex is, question whether they’re the guilty party. ” – YES.
I always side eye people whose exes are “insane.” Especially when they have kids. Well you didn’t always think she was crazy did you?
Agreed. It’s always a red flag for me if a man says all his exes are “crazy.”
Even one ex–if it’s recent, and a big relationship. Even then.
Wise observation.
Side-eying along with you so hard my eyeballs are sprained.
Yeah–maybe someone drove someone else temporarily “crazy” with their crap behaviour. Or the stress of a disintegrating marriage made people seem nuts for a while. Occam’s razor.
True story–when my marriage fell apart, and though neither of us were mentally ill or toxic to one another, I delayed getting out, tried to save the damn thing for multiple reasons. One of them? The horror that, no matter what I did, I would be labelled the “crazy ex wife” because that’s the world.
It makes for good gossip, but when famous people break up/divorce and then use tabloids and other media to snipe at each other, I think it’s very low class. Even if you are the injured party and the right one, you don’t come off the bigger the person or more right for airing your dirty laundry in public. No one looks back at this divorce and thinks gee, I think so much more highly of Christie Brinkley (or Peter Cook) for going after the other parent of her/his children so publicly – good for them! *golf clap* As for the new partner making public statements like Christie was a black cloud over us… ugh, just stop. Save it for your diary or your mother.
I think it’s awful, too. I think it’s understandable, though. I’d imagine that, in the heat of everything, some of these public people with access to interested media just find themselves speaking out of anger. One party fires a shot and the other probably feels a need to retaliate or to defend themselves. People lose their heads sometimes, unfortunately. I’m sure they regret it.
It’s nice that Ms. Shaw apologized to Brinkley. I doubt it’s lost on her, however, that doing so in public is also an effective way to hurt her former husband.
Christie Brinkley looks fantastic.
Agreed! Christie egged on Peter during the divorce by making everything public. Cook is a douche but Christie is no saint either.
Wow Total Gym must really work!
Isn’t the ex-wife always “vilified as being embittered.”
Sounds like this lady had to learn the hard way.
WAY too often. IME (among friends and cultural media), unless the man was physically abusing the woman, people tend to usually blame the woman (subtly or not) for failed relationships: She was too into the kids. She wasn’t putting out. She let herself go. She was “crazy.”
It’s depressing.
Absolutely. You never hear the phrase “he can’t keep a woman.”
Ah, good of this woman to apologize both privately and publicly, since everything was so open in the past it seems fitting. I’ve been on both sides in situations like this, some men are so skilled at playing the victim and sucking you into their drama, but the way a man treats his ex is usually a good indicator of how he’ll treat you eventually, it’s just hard to see in the beginning with the hormones and endorphins raging.
I’m waiting to see if Peter Cook marries again. Because that woman would really have to be brain dead to ignore his well-publicized past.
Well, look how many women John Mayer manages to pull despite his rep. Peter’s probably really charming and manages to dazzle ’em. Narcissists build people up and then tear them down.
‘The “my ex wife is crazy” trope is so tired and overused.’
I’m really glad this is starting to be grasped in the mainstream. If every person’s ex were “crazy” the world would look a lot different and dating would be even harder. And it seems like everyone I know tries to convince me their ex (male or female) is “crazy.” It doesn’t bear up statistically (and honestly, it undermines the few situations where one person really does have to deal with a toxic, unstable ex).
When someone tells me their ex is crazy, to me it says something more about that person than the ex. Or at the very least tells me the breakup was bad, there’s a lot of resentment, and it brought out the worst in people who were probably both temporarily acting like assholes. Which is what breakups do.
Fecking wisdom, people.
I’m skeptical about Shaw’s motivations for apologizing to Brinkley. I hope it’s sincere. I also hope Shaw has done a lot of soul-searching to understand her horrible decision to get with Cook in the first place.
Yeah, I’m skeptical too. Sections of her lengthy speech sound like Brinkley wrote them herself (“Christie is a wonderful mother and community member…)”. I smell a deal here. Not that I don’t think he’s a complete and utter tool.
I was thinking the exact same thing while reading it.
This dynamic has shades of the Glanville-Cibrian-Rimes mess. Although, when LeAnn and Eddie do finally split, there is no chance that LeAnn will exhibit an ounce of Shaw’s class.
Sorry, I did not see your more articulate comment before I responded. You are absolutely right. Shaw has far more class than LeAnn ever will. Besides, LeAnn brought this upon herself (whereas Shaw just got suckered).
She (Christie) has had more husbands than Peter has had wives. I blame them both for their problems.
I think it was pretty big of the new wife to acknowledge that she was wrong and to apologize for the things she said. It probably seemed easy at the time to blame all the problems in her relationship on the “bitter ex-wife,” but once she became the “bitter ex-wife” herself, it must have become clear where the problems were coming from – the husband!
This guy is a grade-A psychopath. I don’t know how anyone could possibly fall under his “spell,” but maybe he is less creepy in person.
So at least she saw the light and realized her mistake.
So do you think there is any chance in hell that we might be reading a statement like this from LeAnn Rimes someday, apologizing to Brandi Glanville? Nahhh…. I’m dreamin’.
Hmmmmmm…. sure looks like that old perv has been hitting the blog here as usual because, unfortunately for their daughter, he has what, about a decade now of bashing the innocent mother? What a loser and how sad for the kid. Christie meanwhile continues to inspire and glow more than ever!
Another vote here for “watch out for guys who say their ex is crazy”. Happened to a close friend of mine. Others warned her that something seemed amiss – to no avail, of course. Turned out he was an alcoholic and nuttier than a damn fruitcake. She ended up divorcing him, but had some really bad times with him before it was all said and done.