Iluvthe80s
1-18-04, 09:36 PM
*FromEonline.com:
Billy Joel Engaged
by Josh Grossberg
Jan 16, 2004, 10:00 AM PT
It looks like Billy Joel has finally found a new Uptown Girl.
Ready to swap vows for a third time, the 54-year-old Piano Man popped the question recently to 22-year-old girlfriend Katie Lee while vacationing on the Caribbean island of St. Bart's, Joel's rep confirms.
"So far a date has not been set," said publicist Claire Mercuri.
But it's obvious the West Virginia native had a way with Joel given that they didn't start the fire until last spring when he met her in New York City. The two have been inseparable ever since.
The impending nuptials came about after Joel sprang a 5-carat diamond rock on Lee. According to the New York Daily News, witnesses later spotted the happy twosome celebrating with pals Steve Martin, and Martin Short on the nearby island of Maya.
The couple then returned to Joel's posh digs in Oyster Bay, New York, where his fiancée has since moved in.
Before hooking up with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Lee studied the culinary arts and reportedly worked at two Long Island restaurants last summer: Jeff and Eddie's in Sag Harbor and at a Bridgehampton fish shop. She has since parlayed her newfound celebrity into a gig as a restaurant correspondent on George Hirsch's PBS show Living It Up!.
Until meeting Lee, marriage hadn't happened for the longest time for Joel.
In 1973, the Movin' Out composer married his business manager Elizabeth Weber before divorcing in 1982. Then, giving hope to average-looking Joes everywhere, Joel tied the knot with supermodel Christie Brinkley in 1985. After having one child together, now-18-year-old daughter Alexa Ray, the two separated in 1994.
Brinkley could not be reached for comment, but she gave her blessing to the union yesterday.
"I wish Kate and Billy every happiness," she told the Daily News.
News of the engagement marks a welcomed turnaround for Joel.
In recent years, the entertainer has been plagued by a substance abuse problem, which resulted in him voluntarily checking into a rehab clinic in Connecticut in 2002. And just a year ago, he was hospitalized briefly after banging himself up pretty good in a car accident.
Billy Joel Engaged
by Josh Grossberg
Jan 16, 2004, 10:00 AM PT
It looks like Billy Joel has finally found a new Uptown Girl.
Ready to swap vows for a third time, the 54-year-old Piano Man popped the question recently to 22-year-old girlfriend Katie Lee while vacationing on the Caribbean island of St. Bart's, Joel's rep confirms.
"So far a date has not been set," said publicist Claire Mercuri.
But it's obvious the West Virginia native had a way with Joel given that they didn't start the fire until last spring when he met her in New York City. The two have been inseparable ever since.
The impending nuptials came about after Joel sprang a 5-carat diamond rock on Lee. According to the New York Daily News, witnesses later spotted the happy twosome celebrating with pals Steve Martin, and Martin Short on the nearby island of Maya.
The couple then returned to Joel's posh digs in Oyster Bay, New York, where his fiancée has since moved in.
Before hooking up with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Lee studied the culinary arts and reportedly worked at two Long Island restaurants last summer: Jeff and Eddie's in Sag Harbor and at a Bridgehampton fish shop. She has since parlayed her newfound celebrity into a gig as a restaurant correspondent on George Hirsch's PBS show Living It Up!.
Until meeting Lee, marriage hadn't happened for the longest time for Joel.
In 1973, the Movin' Out composer married his business manager Elizabeth Weber before divorcing in 1982. Then, giving hope to average-looking Joes everywhere, Joel tied the knot with supermodel Christie Brinkley in 1985. After having one child together, now-18-year-old daughter Alexa Ray, the two separated in 1994.
Brinkley could not be reached for comment, but she gave her blessing to the union yesterday.
"I wish Kate and Billy every happiness," she told the Daily News.
News of the engagement marks a welcomed turnaround for Joel.
In recent years, the entertainer has been plagued by a substance abuse problem, which resulted in him voluntarily checking into a rehab clinic in Connecticut in 2002. And just a year ago, he was hospitalized briefly after banging himself up pretty good in a car accident.