Other Woman Rears Head in Brinkley Divorce

Hubby's former teenage assistant subpoenaed to testify in supermodel's divorce trial

By Josh Grossberg Jun 23, 2008 8:26 PMTags
Christie BrinkleyJason Kempin/WireImage.com

Payback's a bitch.

With her divorce saga set to play out in a Long Island courtroom next month, Christie Brinkley is making sure all the main characters are accounted for, including the woman who wrecked her marriage.

Diana Bianchi, who was a 19-year-old office assistant when she had a fling with the supermodel's soon-to-be ex, architect Peter Cook, has been supboenaed to testify about the tryst.

Bianchi's attorney, Rosemarie Arnold, told E! News her client is "looking forward to getting on with her life and regaining her anonymity."

"She has no interest in becoming involved in a dispute between Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook. If she is compelled to testify however, she will do so truthfully," the lawyer said.

Separately, Arnold added that Bianchi, now 21, chose to give up her foray into the music business but, contrary to some gossip reports, "that choice had absolutely nothing to do with" the scandal.

After the affair became public, Bianchi sued Cook based on their relationship while he was her employer, and the two reached a settlement. Terms were not disclosed.

Meanwhile, Cook attorney Norman Sheresky lashed out at Brinkley's camp for making the pair's dirty laundry a spectator sport.

"Since Peter admitted to an affair two years ago, dragging in Bianchi is just one more example of Ms. Brinkley's thirst for revenge," he said. "Peter has moved on with his life. She should do the same."

The proceedings are due to kick off July 2.

Brinkley, 54, has been pushing to keep the case open to the media, while Cook, 49, insists that doing so could be damaging to son Jack, 12, and daughter Sailor, 9.

On Friday, New York Supreme Court Justice Mark D. Cohen overruled Cook's petition to close the courtroom, ruling that the case could "provide a basis for societal education."

It remains to see whether the lesson will be done with some semblance of class.