Wiki Biography / Profile Background
Introduction :
Richard, also known as Ricky Taubman, is an American real estate developer, photographer, and singer. He is more famously known as model Christie Brinkley’s third husband.
Personal Life, Parents and Family Details :
- Born in 1948, little is known of Taubman’s early life background. Some sources say that he is the son of the late S Morris Taubman, a real estate mogul, and has a stake in the real estate empire.
- Other sources say that Richard is not related to the billionaire Taubmans and had tricked Christie Brinkley into believing so.
- Taubman has a very limited presence on social media with his Facebook account set to private.
First Marriage and Other Relations :
- Taubman’s marriage to Brinkley was his second. He was formerly married to Elizabeth Freeman for three years.
- It was alleged that Richard had a temper & was violent towards his first wife during their marriage.
- From the court papers of Taubman’s first divorce, his first wife Elizabeth mentioned that money was an issue with Taubman spending freely, up to $61,000 a month, and would not keep to a budget.
- Post that, there are no known public relationships of him with anyone.
Relationship with Christie Brinkley :
- Christie Brinkley is a famous supermodel, known for her beautiful, blonde looks and for gracing big magazine covers including Sports Illustrated.
- Back in the 1980s, Christie was singer-songwriter Billy Joel’s muse & also his wife, and had starred in a video of Joel’s famous song “Uptown Girl.”
- She was still married to Billy Joel when she met Richard, during a holiday with Billy, at the exclusive ski resort Telluride. The attraction was instant!
- In a later interview, Brinkley said that her marriage of nearly ten years to Joel had not been working out for the last two years because of differences.
- Richard and Christie started spending time together. Taubman even took Brinkley and her daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, on a flight in his Cessna Grand Caravan 12-seater airplane.
- Ten days after Brinkley left the ski Telluride, she came back again, and the couple held hands for the first time. The next day, they were involved in a horrific helicopter accident. Brinkley suffered minor injuries while Taubman suffered a collapsed lung, a broken collarbone, and twelve broken ribs. They and four others were stranded in the cold and fierce winds for five hours until they were rescued by helicopter.
- The accident had a major impact on them. It was a catalyst for Richard and Brinkley to fast-track their romance and become an official couple.
- Billy Joel and Brinkley announced their split two weeks later.
Christie & Richard’s Wedding :
- Nine months after they met, Richard and Brinkley got hitched on December 22, 1994. The ceremony was held near the top of Telluride Mountain.
- Brinkley designed her wedding dress while her daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, drew the wedding invitations.
- After a simple ceremony, Christie put on her black ski boots, and the newly married couple skied down the mountain to the Gorrono Ranch restaurant where they were holding their reception.
- Christie announced it would be the last time she did a run since she was four months pregnant. The gender of the baby was revealed during the reception.
- In an interview, Brinkley had said “Life is short. Ricky and I realize how lucky we were. We want to be together all the time.”
- She also said she was looking forward to being happily married for a long time!
Divorce & Separation :
- Despite the birth of Richard & Christie’s son Jack Paris Brinkley Cook in 1995, their fancy marriage was extremely short-lived.
- It was not known why their marriage was headed for disaster. People had speculated that they moved too fast, too soon, and didn’t get to know each other properly.
- Others had commented that money was an issue and Taubman’s inability to keep a job was another.
- It was rumored that Taubman also owed Brinkley $1.5 million with no intention of paying it back.
- Brinkley filed for divorce in 1995, barely a year after they got married.
- Taubman has waived off visitation rights to his son, Jack Brinkley, and Christie got sole custody.
Interesting Facts, Height and Trivia :
- Richard has a patchy career as a photographer and singer. It was rumored that money issues were one of the reasons for the split between Brinkley and him.
- It was allegedly reported that Taubman had sold his house in Santa Fe to bail out his helicopter company, Alpine Pacific.
- He was also a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, according to Sarah Carradine, a friend of Taubman and Brinkley.
