Christie Brinkley Exposes Her Third Husband Richard Taubman's Final Betrayal — He Tracked Down Her Abusive Biological Dad and Then Echoed His Abandonment With One Vicious Sentence
Christie Brinkley's third husband Richard Taubman whispered a chilling sentence to her before he said goodbye.
April 30 2025, Published 5:45 p.m. ET
Christie Brinkley's third hubby twisted the knife with a betrayal that echoed her deepest childhood wound.
In her memoir Uptown Girl, Brinkley recounts how ex Richard Taubman dug up her dark past – then coldly compared himself to her abusive father in a chilling remark that left her "breathless" and shattered their marriage, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
In her new memoir, the model opened up about husband Robert Taubman reaching out to her abusive father behind her back.
Just after her split from Billy Joel in 1994, Brinkley quickly moved on to third husband Taubman – describing their whirlwind romance as "hypnotizing" and the result of a "trauma bond."
They even tied the knot that same year.
But despite the intense speed and passion – especially with Brinkley expecting her second child, Jack – she revealed their relationship was plagued with issues and Taubman "betrayed" her in a way that was "unforgivable."
Brinkley was left gasping for air after Taubman said he would leave her just like her dad did.
Amidst their rocky patch, Taubman flew to New York and pressured Brinkley into a lunch, where he casually dropped a massive bombshell.
Brinkley recalled: "He suddenly and casually dropped that he had tracked down my biological father, Herb Hudson, and had even spoken with him by phone."
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover girl hadn't spoken to her estranged father since she was eight, and she detailed his alleged abuse in other parts of the book.
She wrote: "No matter how good or quiet I was, Herb always found a reason to punish me." She further describing being beaten with a belt, "rubbed raw with towels," and having her mouth washed out with soap.
Brinkley experienced "a huge sense of relief" when Hudson gave up his parental rights, paving the way for her mother, Marge Brinkley, to marry Don Brinkley in 1957.
The model was left "shocked and outraged" when she learned her husband had betrayed her trust, breaking down in tears over the revelation.
The couple's split followed soon after, in New York City — just days after she gave birth to their son.
The model drops more bombshells about her four marriages in her newly-released memoir, 'Uptown Girl.'
She then recalled the chilling words Taubman uttered during their breakup, which left her gasping for breath.
He said: "We're going to make a deal. I’m going to walk away from you and the baby just like Herb Hudson did."
Brinkley explained: "In that second, the room collapsed around me, as Ricky’s words hung in the air like dark, dirty soot, choking me with so much shock and outrage that I felt breathless.
"Sometimes, history has a horrible way of repeating itself."
Prior to Taubman, Brinkley had been married to artist Jean-François Allaux and rock star Joel, with whom she shares daughter Alexa Ray Joel, 39.
Her marriage to fourth husband Peter Cook was a "tortured" one, and Brinkley didn’t hold back in her memoir – revealing the moment she discovered he was cheating with a teenager.
"I was so stunned that I froze," she remembered, recalling the 18-year-old’s father revealing the affair at a graduation ceremony. "It was so insane that it was almost funny."
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Brinkley also dove into her high-profile marriage to Joel, 75, from 1985 to 1994, revealing the struggles of living with his alcohol addiction – even though she was initially reluctant to share some of the details in writing.
She recently said although the Grammy winner was "probably her soulmate," she "couldn't live with him."
Elsewhere in her book, Brinkley opens up about the moment she learned of fourth husband Peter Cook's affair.
She went on to clarify: "To be clear, I never wanted to end things with Billy. I read every self-help book I could find... We went to see a string of psychiatrists, psychologists and other medical doctors.
"The drinking was bigger than the both of us. Booze was the other woman, and it was beginning to seem that he preferred to be with her rather than me."
