Elle Macpherson Says Billy Joel Kicked Her Out Of Their Apartment For Christie Brinkley
Australian model and Sports Illustrated icon Elle Macpherson opened up about her relationship with musician Billy Joel in the 1980s. According to People, Macpherson said that one evening, Joel kicked her out of the apartment they shared because he brought model Christie Brinkley home.
Macpherson was a guest on the Bravo show Watch What Happens Live, hosted by Andy Cohen when a fan asked Macpherson about the incident.
“Billy Joel said in his autobiography that he brought Christie Brinkley back to his penthouse and you were there waiting for him. What happened that night and how do you look back on your relationship?”
Macpherson, 54, explained that she and Joel were living together in a Central Park West apartment in Manhattan when the incident occurred.
“I think he was dating Christie at the time, just starting to. So yeah, I got ousted, what can I say?” Macpherson replied.
Cohen also weighed in, commenting on how Joel has admitted to dating both women at the same time. As People previously reported, Joel brought Brinkley home to their penthouse apartment one evening. When the elevator doors opened onto the foyer of the apartment there stood Macpherson, who was 19 at the time.
“Part of me thought, ‘oh god,’ another part of me was going, ‘Holy crap if my friends could see me now!'” Joel said.
Macpherson also weighed in on Joel’s hit song, Uptown Girl, and whether it was about her or Brinkley.
“I think it’s [about] all the uptown girls, put it that way.”
Macpherson and Joel’s relationship ended soon after the incident. She went on to grace the cover of several Sports Illustrated issues and married Gilles Bensimon in 1986 — the two split up in 1989 — followed by a decade-long partnership with French financier Arpad Busson, who she shares two children with. Macpherson then married the billionaire, Jeffery Soffer. The two divorced in 2017 after nearly four years of marriage.
The model has had several film and television roles, including a recurring role in the hit television show, Friends, where she played Joey Tribbiani’s roommate, Janine. She has also served as a judge on Brittain and Ireland’s Next Top Model and on NBC’s Fashion Star.
Joel has also spoken about the inspiration for his hit song. While he said he wrote it about all the models in New York City, it eventually became about one girl in particular – Brinkley, who appeared in the music video for the song. The pair began dating in 1983 and married in 1985, divorcing nearly a decade later. Joel and Brinkley had one daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, 32.
