Overview

• Brinkley, 71, suggested marriage contracts include a clause requiring couples to choose renewal or separation every five years to avoid lengthy legal proceedings.
• She presented the idea on Kristin Davis’s Are You a Charlotte? podcast and argued that fixed-term vows could curb boredom and ease exits.
• Brinkley drew on lessons from her four marriages—to Jean-François Allaux, Billy Joel, Richard Taubman and Peter Cook—to highlight trust and fidelity issues.
• In her memoir Uptown Girl, she detailed betrayals such as learning of Peter Cook’s affair mid-commencement address and reflected on love’s challenges.
• Despite past failures, Brinkley remains optimistic, saying love takes work and sometimes expert help, and points to her parents’ enduring bond as proof of lifelong commitment.