Many of our readers divorcing in Pasadena are no strangers to the complicated and sometimes contentious world of child support. In the best cases, these matters can be handled quickly and fairly. In the worst cases, however, child support disagreements can rage on for years. Former supermodel Christie Brinkley and ex-husband Peter Cook, for example, called it quits in 2008 but are still making headlines today for a brutal back-and-forth battle over child support.
Brinkley and Cook didn't exactly part on great terms in 2008 when their marriage ended after she found out he was having an affair with a then 18-year-old wannabe singer named Diana Bianchi. Yet matters between the two have only gotten worse over the years and the couple has frequently trash talked one another in the press. The most recent war of words between Brinkley and Cook was triggered by another trip to the courthouse. Brinkley filed paperwork last month, claiming Cook had neglected to pay child support over the summer while she was starring in Chicago on Broadway.
Cook fired back in an interview with ABC News last week.
"The problem is that Ms. Brinkley filed a claim that I wasn't paying child support when she took off to do Broadway last March through June. She put the children in my full-time care, so I wrote her lawyers and said, 'Hey, she's gone, I got the children full-time. How about we reverse child support for this time period?'" he explained.
Brinkley's camp says the lawsuit is seeking "$140,000 from Cook for $6,000 in missed child-support payments, $32,000 for educational expenses and $102,000 for 28 nasty e-mails he sent her - violating a clause in their divorce agreement barring aggressive communication," according to the New York Post. Furthermore, Team Brinkley says that she has sole custody of their two children and that Cook's claims of being the primary caregiver are "delusional."
Cook claims to want this custody drama to end once and for all for the sake of their children.
"The real victim in this is not me. It's the kids, who have to have this rehashed and brought back in the public eye over and over and over again. It's unnecessary. I'm a good father. I love my kids. I accept my responsibilities with my children. I accept my legal responsibilities to her. I follow the rules and all I ask is that she do the same thing," he said.