Christie Brinkley and ex-husband Peter Cook reach child custody settlement, war of words continues

After four years of public fighting following their divorce, former supermodel Christie Brinkley and her ex-husband Peter Cook have reached a settlement over child support for their two children, Jack, 17, and Sailor, 13.

The two reached the deal over the weekend in the Hamptons, reports The New York Post. They had fought publicly over nasty emails and how to pay expenses for their children, but the new settlement was an attempt to stop so they could move on.

One provision of the deal included getting a parental coordinator to make sure that they could take care of the children without fighting.

“Peter Cook has been completely vindicated,” Cook’s lawyer, Jim Winkley, said in a statement. “In addition to receiving financial compensation for having to address Ms. Brinkley’s frivolous lawsuit against him, Mr. Cook has also secured a parenting coordinator, something he has sought, and Ms. Brinkley has refused, for 4 years. Ms. Brinkley is now mandated to co-parent directly with Mr. Cook and she will be monitored.”

Winkley continued, “The settlement we reached proves Ms. Brinkley’s claims were baseless and that a hearing would have only proved to be a further embarrassment for her.”

On her Facebook page, Brinkley reacted to the settlement, writing, “In a late night settlement, I finally won the right to establish boundaries with provisions such as an intermediary to deal with email bullying, verbal and emotional abuse.

She adds, “I am hopeful the steps taken will now protect my Constitutional right to quiet enjoyment and peace and serve as a template for the courts to help others avoid the lengthy trials and tribulations that cost taxpayers money, and at a cost to families that CAN be calculated in dollars. But its the emotional toll which can only be measured in tears that must be considered by the courts and media alike.”

While it sounds as if the fighting between the two might be over, that is hardly the case. After posting her initial statement, Brinkley posted one from her lawyer, slamming Cook’s claim about the parental coordinator. Instead, lawyer Thomas Campagna says that the settlement forced Cook to “pay his child support arrears rather than face the consequences of the Court. The settlement also provides for an ‘intermediary’ to monitor Peter Cook’s abusive communications and levy a fine for any future violations.”

Campagna wrote that Brinkley won a “No Contact Rule” which keeps Cook from making any contact with her.

Cook’s current wife, Suzanne Shaw, sent a response to ABC News that tries to debunk 10 lies that Brinkley said about the court battle. “Christie, your dishonesty knows no bounds,” the statement starts. “Lie#1 If you had moved on from your marriage to Peter Cook we wouldn't have been hearing about it ad nauseam for the last 6 years.”

The public trial was supposed to start the day after the settlement was made.