Christie Brinkley's Divorce Fully Cooked

Court formally signs off on split between model and her philandering hubby Peter Cook

By Gina Serpe Oct 08, 2008 6:36 PMTags
Christie Brinkley, Peter CookAP Photo/Mary Altaffer

Christie Brinkley has finally been singled out by the state of New York.

A court document filed in Suffolk County, N.Y., last Friday has finalized the cover girl's divorce from philandering hubby Peter Cook.

Back in July, the 54-year-old model and the 49-year-old architect faced off in a court battle royale that included emotional talk of pornography, affairs and therapists.

The battle-weary twosome subsequenly dispatched their attorneys to hash out a mutually agreeable deal, which ultimately resulted in Brinkley getting full custody of their three children and ownership of all properties in dispute, and Cook getting visitation and a $2.1 million payout.

Though, apparently, Cook didn't quite get enough press out of the deal.

The formalization of their divorce comes on the proverbial eve of Cook's mud-slinging revealing interview with Barbara Walters, which airs as a 20/20 special this Friday, in which he defends his marital behavior and lashes out at his vilification by the press.

"I'm not the...pervert that I've been painted to be," he tells Walters, going on to explain why he has chosen to speak out now about his having had an affair with an 18-year-old staffer and engaged in an online porn habit.

"The misinformation that came out during the trial is the elephant in the room. It's the elephant in the room for my kids."

Cook also seemingly lays blame on Brinkley for the less than Husband of the Year behaviors he exhibited during their 10-year marriage.

"I wanted a little acknowledgment, a little attention, a little thank you every now and then for my efforts, for the amount of time I took to care for her and my family, for the wealth I was building.

"My world became her world. It had to be that way."

As it happens, it also may have to be that Cook faces another round of legal action for his new disclosures, as they potentially violate a court order not to publicly discuss his marriage.

"It is shocking that Mr. Cook, after having his day in court, would continue this firestorm created by his bizarre behavior by violating an agreement and court order that prohibits either party from discussing their marriage or divorce in any public way," Brinkley's lawyer, Robert Stephan Cohen, said in a statement released yesterday.

"Ms. Brinkley plans to pursue her legal options arising from his gross disregard of the children and the court order."