Christie Brinkley Recalls NY Breakup Nightmare

NEW YORK (AP) — Christie Brinkley says it was a “nightmare” to put on a brave face and throw a birthday party with 30 kids amid revelations that husband had an affair with a teenager.

But the model — testifying at the custody portion of her Long Island divorce trial — says homespun family celebrations are part of a lifestyle that means the world to her.

She tearfully told the court: “That’s the most important thing — to have a big, happy family.”

Brinkley says she tried to spare her kids the messy details of the breakup, including her discovery of husband Peter Cook’s Internet porn habits.

She told the children: “I think Daddy has fallen out of love with me.” But she assured them they would always be “very, very loved.”

Meanwhile, a court-appointed psychologist says Christie Brinkley should get custody of her two youngest children. Dr. Stephen Herman made the recommendation Tuesday.

Herman met 11 times with the parents, their 13-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter. He says Cook is a narcissist who constantly needs to have his insatiable ego fed and added that shared custody “is not at all a viable option.”