Brinkley's ex takes his case to '20/20'

Verne Gay
October 9, 2008

And you honestly thought this dismal soap opera would end without the Barbara Walters interview on "20/20"? Sorry, but no such luck.

Peter Cook will lay out his case - you know, the one he lost against supermodel Christie Brinkley - before Walters and a national audience tomorrow night at 10. In his first TV interview, he says that an affair with an 18-year old office worker, Diana Bianchi, was an effort to seek "a connection I could not find in my own marriage. I think the emotional aspect of our lives had changed. I think we were both feeling more like we were living with a brother and sister than a life partner."

And this: "I wanted a little acknowledgment, a little attention, a little 'thank you' every now and then for my efforts, for the amount of time I took to care for her and my family, for the wealth I was building."

Cook and Brinkley's divorce trial ended abruptly in mid-July, when both reached an out-of-court settlement, in which Brinkley gave her ex-husband - her fourth - Cook $2.1 million but kept more than a dozen properties in the Hamptons. She also retained custody of the two children.

Brinkley's lawyer, Robert Stephan Cohen, released a statement saying: "It is shocking that Mr. Cook, after having his day in court, would continue this firestorm created by his bizarre behavior by violating an agreement and court order that prohibits either party from discussing their marriage or divorce in any public way."