Brinkley v. Cook Heads to Court

Thu., Nov. 9, 2006 4:57 PM PST by Natalie Finn

Reunited and it feels so...eh.

Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook faced off in court for the first time Thursday, People magazine reported, though neither one actually spoke or looked in the other's direction.

But their legal teams were ready and waiting.

The first order of business was the children. The estranged duo reached a temporary agreement "everyone was happy with," regarding visitation rights with son Jack, 11, and daughter Sailor, 8, Cook's attorney, Norman Sheresky, told the magazine. The arrangement is good until February.

Jack is Brinkley's son with third husband Richard Taubman. Cook adopted the boy when he and Brinkley tied the knot in 1996, her fourth trip down the aisle.

In light of the circumstances that led Brinkley to file for divorce in September after 10 years of marriage (i.e. Cook admitting to past dalliances with two teenage girls), a judge ordered the opposing sides to not make disparaging remarks or discuss the divorce in front of their kids.

"They're hoping to reach a resolution that spares the children and themselves any further anguish," Sheresky told People. "It's really too early to say they've reached any kind of resolution," he added, regarding a divorce settlement.

Cook, hoping to reconcile, issued an apology to his supermodel wife in July, fessing up to having a yearlong affair with his then 17-year-old office assistant, Diana Bianchi, and offering a tearful olive branch.

Two days after Bianchi came forward, pop singer Samantha Cole told the New York Post she had a relationship with Cook 11 years ago, when she was 18 and working as his assistant and he was engaged to somebody else (not Brinkley).

"Our story is exactly the same," Cole said of Bianchi at the time. "It's very odd."

Since their separation, Brinkley has met up briefly with Cook to discuss familial relations at the Hamptons home they used to share, gracefully offering Popsicles to a photographer sweltering in the heat outside. She has not commented publicly on either the split or her husband's behavior, however, beyond the usual request to respect the family's privacy.

Those who know the CoverGirl beauty best have said that her actions during the divorce proceedings have been typical Christie.

"Anything negative, she translates into something positive," 20-year-old Alexa Ray Joel, Brinkley's daughter with Billy Joel, told People last month. "She always handles everything with class."