Alexa Ray Joel opened up about watching her father Billy Joel’s new HBO documentary, calling the experience moving beyond belief.
Speaking with PEOPLE about the release of Billy Joel: And So It Goes, the 39-year-old singer said it was emotional reliving her childhood years on screen. The two-part documentary dropped its second part on July 25.
“There was people messaging me saying that they were in tears. So let alone, for me, reliving my childhood years,” Alexa said.
She’s featured in the documentary alongside her parents, Joel and Christie Brinkley, who divorced in 1994 but remained close friends.
“I think the world was very enchanted by my parents when they were together. They were like the ultimate dream couple.”
Alexa described how her parents couldn’t be more different, but that’s what made their relationship work. Brinkley was the outgoing supermodel while Joel remained more introverted.
“Opposites attract. My mom being this beautiful model, and extrovert, and very sunny and outgoing. My dad is definitely more of an introvert, which I would say, I’m more introverted too,” she explained.
The documentary brought tears to both mother and daughter.
“It was really, really beautiful and emotional for me to watch. I cried, my mom cried,” Alexa said.
Early Romance Recalled
In the film, the 76-year-old “Vienna” singer and 71-year-old Brinkley recall meeting in 1983 and their 11-year relationship. Joel admitted he couldn’t believe he was dating a supermodel.
“Here I am dating this beautiful supermodel and… me? I’m from Hicksville. What am I doing with her? What’s she doing with me? But that was a very productive time for me. I wrote a lot of songs for her. She was a muse.”
Joel described feeling like a teenager again.
“It was like being a teenager all over again. Experiencing those same emotions that I had when I was first discovering romance and love,” he continued in the documentary.
Their relationship started strong but began falling apart by 1989. Brinkley explained that Joel’s single “I Go to Extremes” reflected him “boomeranging between being a family man and tortured artist.”
Joel would often disappear in the middle of the night to drink as his life began unraveling.
The couple divorced after nine years of marriage but stayed great friends and co-parents. In August 2024, Joel even serenaded Brinkley with “Uptown Girl” during a concert at Madison Square Garden.
New Chapter
Joel has been married to wife Alexis since 2015. The couple share daughters Della, who turns 10 this month, and 7-year-old Remy.
In a recent cover story, Joel told PEOPLE he’s “really enjoying this time in my life.”
The documentary shows how differently Alexis reacted to Joel compared to other women he’d met. She wasn’t impressed by his fame or piano skills.
“When you meet someone who captures your imagination, it renews, it revitalizes. I remember the first time I met Alexis, we went to my house, and I wanted to play the piano for her. It’s a form of communication for me.”
Joel tried recreating a scene from the Marilyn Monroe film The Seven-Year Itch, playing Rachmaninoff to impress her.
“I’m playing that and she’s completely unimpressed with it, totally. She couldn’t care less what I’m playing and I’m thinking, ‘Oh okay, this isn’t working,'” Joel recalled.
That reaction actually impressed him more than flattery would have.
“She was very unimpressed with the whole Billy Joel thing, which impressed me. Because I thought, ‘OK, maybe she’s just here because she likes me, not the Billy Joel guy.'”
Billy Joel: And So It Goes is now streaming on HBO Max, reflecting on the singer’s life, career and music across two parts.
