When Billy Joel fell for former Christie Brinkley, it was as if he was discovering passion for the first time.

In part two of his HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, which premieres on Friday, July 25, Joel and Brinkley, who were together for 11 years, reflect on their early romance.

They met while on vacation in St. Barts in 1983. They were both residing in New York City at the time, so they agreed to stay in touch. When they got back to the city, they went on their first “real date” to a Beach Boys concert.

“Here I am dating this stunning supermodel, and… me? I am from Hicksville. What am I doing with her? What is she doing with me? But that was a really productive period for me,” Joel, 76, stated in the video. “I penned several songs for her. She was a muse.

He went on to say, “It felt like I was a teenager again. I’m experiencing the same emotions I did when I first discovered passion and love.

Reflecting on their “whirlwind romance,” Brinkley, 71, who welcomed daughter Alexa with Joel in 1985, said their early years together were “just so much fun.”

However, by 1989, as seen by Joel’s single “I Go to Extremes,” which describes his struggle to control his wide-ranging emotions, fractures had appeared in the couple’s foundation. Brinkley stated in the documentary that the song represents Joel’s “boomeranging between being a family man and a tortured artist” who would frequently escape in the middle of the night to drink amid his “unraveling” existence.

Then there were his issues with then-manager Frank Weber, whom Joel subsequently discovered was reportedly mismanaging his funds.

Joel launched a $90 million fraud and breach of contract lawsuit against Weber in 1989 (which was eventually settled), but he was obliged to recuperate the lost funds by increasing his touring efforts, which kept him on the road and away from his family.

“I was in a relationship with someone I really cared about. But I was unable to stay at home. I was unable to be with my family.” It was a very sad time for me,” the “Piano Man” singer revealed. “I discovered that love is not tangible. You believe it is, yet things are chipping away at it. Eventually, everything catches up. It’s hard.” I was absolutely devastated.”

Brinkley also mentioned one of their final disputes in the documentary, stating that he had been drinking and she was about to depart for New York with their daughter.

“He said, ‘Yeah, great, go.’ I tried. “I wanted it to work,” the model explained. “I realized how fortunate I was to have music and all that. But it simply didn’t work.”

Joel and Brinkley split in 1994, after nine years of marriage. Nonetheless, they have remained close friends and co-parents. Joel sang “Uptown Girl” for Brinkley at a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City in August 2024.

The Grammy winner has been happily married to his wife Alexis since 2015, and the couple has two children, Della (9) and Remy (7).

The “We Didn’t Start the Fire” singer told PEOPLE in this week’s cover story that he is “really enjoying this time in my life.” Meanwhile, his longtime friend and lighting designer Steve Cohen thanked Alexis for supporting the actor while he heals from a recent diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus. (Despite his curable brain illness, Joel claims to be “OK.”).

“Alexis has been great,” he remarked. “Going through what he’s going through, getting better from the illnesses and all of that—he’s in a good spot, and he’s doing well.”

Billy Joel: And So It Goes, which examines the singer’s life, career, and songs, is now available on HBO Max.