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Christie Brinkley Recalls Breakup 'Nightmare'

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Jul 7, 2008 12:36 pm US/Eastern

Christie Brinkley Recalls Breakup 'Nightmare'

NEW YORK (AP) ― Christie Brinkley says it was a "nightmare" to put on a brave face and throw a birthday party with 30 kids amid revelations that her husband had an affair with a teenager.

But the model — testifying Monday at the custody portion of her Long Island divorce trial — says homespun family celebrations are part of a lifestyle that means the world to her.

She tearfully told the court: "That's the most important thing — to have a big, happy family."

Brinkley says she tried to spare her children the messy details of the breakup, including her discovery of husband Peter Cook's Internet porn habits.

She says she told the children: "I think daddy has fallen out of love with me." But she assured them they would always be "very, very loved."

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