Alexa Ray Joel says don’t blame Christie Brinkley over her suicide bid
(HMG) – Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley’s daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, has come out to defends her parents and particularly her supermodel mom, after her alleged suicide attempt was rumored to have been prompted after a “dysfunctional” vacation with the supermodel.
Joel, 24, was rushed to St Vincent’s Hospital on December 5 , after her worried roommate called 911 for help from their West Village apartment. Joel’s famous parents said their daughter’s frightening December incident came “while suffering a devastating heartbreak.” At the time, Joel had been dealing with the end of a long-term relationship with rocker Jimmy Riot, 38, a former bandmate.
Alexa took to Facebook this weekend to deny reports that blamed Brinkley for her suicide attempt last month, in her first extended public comments.
“My Mom & Dad are my role models and best friends,” Joel wrote. “What I was struggling with had nothing to do with them. The press was particularly harsh on my Mother, which is unthinkable to me, because she is the kindest woman I’ve ever known, and wouldn’t hurt a fly!!”
Alexa never specifically mentioned reports that Brinkley’s ex, Peter Cook, blamed Joel’s angst on fights with her mother over her appearance and weight, but said.
“Consider the source,” Alexa Ray writes on Facebook. Cook and Brinkley’s marriage – her fourth – ended in bitter divorce last year.
Joel told fans she plans to help “young girls with something I feel I know a great deal about: heartbreak-related depression.”
“Although it does not get much attention in our society, it is a very serious and painful condition that often gets ‘swept under the carpet,’” she wrote. “I hope to bring this topic more to light.”
Joel said she’ll seek to better understand depression.
“I’m even going back to school for psychology in hopes to learn more about this and many other afflictions that many of us have had to face,” she wrote. “After all, there’s nothing more fascinating than the human mind and it’s (sic) respective conditions.”
She finished with: “I just wanted to thank you all for the incredible outpouring of love and support. It’s certainly been a whirlwind of a month, but reading all of your encouraging posts has never failed to cheer me up!!!
