Christie Brinkley and estranged husband 'need therapy'

The model Christie Brinkley and her estranged husband both need therapy, a court-appointed psychiatrist has told their divorce hearing.

By Tom Leonard in New York 08 July 2008 • 11:56pm

Christie Brinkley and her husband Peter Cook in 2003 — Before the scandal, Christie Brinkley told an interviewer that Mr Cook [left] was 'just the greatest father' Credit: Photo: AP

Dr Stephen Herman said that Brinkley should get custody of the two children from her marriage to Peter Cook.

But he added that Brinkley, who has been married four times, also "needs to start working on deeper issues" including "her choice of male figures".

She needed an "outlet for her anger and feeling of betrayal" by a husband who had cheated on her with an 18-year-old personal assistant and spent thousands of dollars a month on internet pornograpy, said Dr Herman.

The court in Central Islip on Long Island, New York, heard that Dr Herman met 11 times with the parents, their 13-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter.

He described Mr Cook as a narcissist who constantly needed to have his insatiable ego fed.

Mr Cook, a 49-year-old architect, "needs constant reassurance that he is a terrific guy", Dr Herman said in a psychological report.

Brinkley, 54, whose former husbands include the singer Billy Joel, later told the court: "I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of psychotherapy. I believe there are other ways to deal with this."

However, she said she "would do whatever it takes to convince the court" to grant her custody, even if it meant therapy.

Before the scandal, Brinkley - once one of the world's most famous models - told an interviewer that Mr Cook was "just the greatest father".

Brinkley also has a daughter, Alexa, with Billy Joel. The 22-year-old testified that Cook picked on her and once shoved her head into a bucket of water after she spent too long in the shower and flooded the floor.

The court has heard that he paid £150,000 to his mistress to hush up their affair.

Defence lawyers have accused Brinkley, who has burst into tears on numerous occasions during the case, of over-egging her emotions and of putting her desire for revenge before the welfare of her children.

She married Mr Cook in 1996, following a whirlwind courtship of about five months.

Now they are arguing over custody of their children as well as ownership of two homes in the Hamptons.