Bitter To The End

Christie Brinkley's lurid divorce trial came to an abrupt end today when lawyers for the supermodel and her fourth husband reached an out-of-court settlement that gives her custody of their two children.

The settlement was reached early this morning after an all-night session that resolved all issues between Brinkley and her estranged husband, architect Peter Cook, Brinkley's lawyer, Robert Stephan Cohen, told the court.

Under the agreement, Brinkley will give Cook $US2.1 million ($2.2 million) but keep 18 properties in the Hamptons that were at dispute. Cook will get parenting time with the children, under an agreement mutually satisfactory to both.

Cohen said the remainder of the settlement was confidential.

"It's to me a very bittersweet moment because it really is the death of a marriage," Brinkley, 54, said after the settlement was announced in court. "I'm very pleased with the results today. I was here fighting for custody."

She held an elaborate dinosaur diorama she had helped her son make for a science class; it was used as evidence at the trial.

"It's everything I asked for," said Cook, 49.

Brinkley, 54, was married to Cook for a decade before his affair with a teenager catapulted their troubles into the spotlight in 2006.

The trial, which was in its sixth day, revealed a litany of salacious allegations about Cook's affair with Diana Bianchi, who was 18 at the time, as well as interactive internet sex liaisons that cost him thousands of dollars a month.

Cook, 49, testified he gave Bianchi a $US300,000 ($314,100) payoff after having trysts with her in his office and Brinkley's Hamptons homes for several months in 2005.

The former Sports Illustrated model said she was devastated to learn of the affair from the teen's stepfather.

Despite a prenuptial agreement, the couple feuded in court over child custody and bickered over properties Cook advised Brinkley to buy in the Hamptons.

The couple have a daughter, Sailor, 10. Cook adopted Brinkley's 13-year-old son Jack, whom she had with her third husband, Richard Taubman.

Under the settlement, Cook will see the children every other weekend and on Wednesday nights - an arrangement that has been in place for some time. The children's lawyer, Theresa Mari, said today that both parents "worked very hard to do this in the best interest of the children."

It was not clear what sparked the move toward conciliation after days of embittered testimony, but on Tuesday a court-appointed psychiatrist said Brinkley should be granted custody. Stephen Herman said Cook deserved liberal access to the children, but added that both parents were in need of counselling to deal with their personal issues.

Cook's lawyer, Norman Sheresky, repeatedly accused Brinkley of seeking to "publicly flog" her husband, noting that she had supported keeping the trial open to the public.

Brinkley also has a daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, 22, with rock 'n' roll Hall of Famer Billy Joel.
Brinkley's first husband was artist Jean-Francois Allaux.