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When Christie Brinkley found out that her husband was having an affair, it “nearly broke her.”
The veteran Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model is on the cover of Social Life Magazine in celebration of her memoir, “Uptown Girl,” which came out earlier this year. The 71-year-old spoke to the outlet about what it was like sharing her story, both the highs and lows.
“There were parts where I thought, ‘Please don’t cry,’” said Brinkley when it came to reading her story out loud for the audiobook.
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Christie Brinkley opened up to Social Life Magazine about what it was like writing her memoir “Uptown Girl.” (Fadil Berisha)
“I tried to keep [my voice] level, but [the publisher] let me be. Let my voice crack. Let it show.”
One of the moments Brinkley described in the book was discovering how her fourth husband, architect Peter Cook, was unfaithful after eight years of marriage.
According to the outlet, Brinkley was at a graduation ceremony in 2006 to give a commencement speech. She described how a man approached her with a revelation that had the “weight of a wrecking ball, delivered in barely a whisper.”
Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook married in 1996. (Djamilla Rosa Cochran/WireImage for Shirine Coburn Communication)
“I asked him to repeat it,” she recalled before turning to look at Cook.
“And then I looked at Jack,” she said about her son. “Jack’s face was frozen in panic. He felt it instantly. He knew something was very wrong.”
According to Brinkley, she looked out into the crowd. She saw “mouths agape,” reminding her of “The Scream” oil painting.
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The new issue of Social Life Magazine, which features Christie Brinkley as their new cover girl, is out on newsstands now. (Fadil Berisha)
“They all knew,” the outlet shared. “Maybe some judged. Maybe some didn’t. But in that suspended moment, she felt faint, exposed… like the floor might drop beneath her.”
Brinkley said she asked the man if he had a card.
“No,” he said. “But I’m a cop at the Southampton station.”
Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook in 2002. In 2006, the model discovered his shocking secret. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
After the ceremony, Jack rushed over to his mother and asked what was wrong. She told him, “Mommy needs to go to the police station.” There, she would get more information about how her marriage was unraveling.
Brinkley told the outlet that she didn’t know what readers would expect from her book.
“I had thought this book might sit on shelves,” she admitted. “I worried it would embarrass my kids. But people bought it. They loved it. I cried.”
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Christie Brinkley’s memoir “Uptown Girl” was published in April. (Harper Influence)
In her book, Brinkley describes how the police officer who made the revelation was the father of the 18-year-old Cook was involved with.
“I know from Peter’s face that he was guilty,” Brinkley wrote. “When your whole world falls apart, and you realize in a heartbeat you’ve suddenly become the cliché middle-aged woman whose husband is having an affair with a much (much) younger woman, what do you do?”
WATCH: CHRISTIE BRINKLEY OPENS UP IN NEW MEMOIR ‘UPTOWN GIRL’
That night, Cook was out of the house. And friends urged Brinkley to search the family computer. They even came over to help, an operation Brinkley said looked like something out of “Charlie’s Angels.” There, she found a “creepy labyrinth of files and photos I never knew existed.”
Christie Brinkley isn’t holding back when it comes to telling her story. (Fadil Berisha)
“I was good at guessing passwords, and soon enough, a panoply of frightening email exchanges, incriminating photos, and porn accounts populated the screen like fireworks,” Brinkley wrote. “It was so insane that it was almost funny, and soon enough, the three of us were doubled over in laughter, as printouts of girls in X-rated poses began piling up on the floor faster than trash outside a greasy takeaway.”
Christie Brinkley leaving court after a day on the stand. (John Roca/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
Brinkley and Cook’s split resulted in a six-year court battle. Social Life Magazine reported that the divorce trial was “tabloid catnip and a full-blown media spectacle.” It was also “a mother fighting to protect her cubs.”
Today, Brinkley told the outlet she finds solace tending to her garden, just like another famous blonde.
These days, Christie Brinkley prefers getting her hands dirty. (Fadil Berisha)
“I admire Pamela [Anderson],” Brinkley told Social Life about the “Baywatch” icon. “I think we were both misread. Different myths were built around each of us, and now we’ve found the freedom to say what was always ours. We’re not salon blondes. We’re hands-in-the-dirt women. We bloom in the garden.”
Brinkley previously told Fox News Digital she dares to love again.
“I find that love is the strongest thing in the whole world, and we are surrounded by love,” she said. “There are so many kinds of love and love for our friends, love for our families, love for nature and love for people that protect nature. I love love – I feel like my life is so full of love.”
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Christie Brinkley is open to romantic love, but she’s perfectly content with her life today. (Fadil Berisha)
“I think if there’s a romantic love that comes along, it would be wonderful,” she shared. “But I also feel very content and happy with the life that I have right now. I consider my life to be very full of love.”