Elizabeth Ann Weber is better known to the world as the first wife of the six times Grammy Award winner and famous music legend Billy Joel. The couple was happily married and Elizabeth even worked as the manager of her husband for quite some time.
However, the infamous first wife had done many bad deeds while in a relationship with Joel, leaving him heartbroken and lonely, which also led him to think about suicide. So, the mystery remains unsolved regarding what happened between them? The real reason behind their divorce? and Where is Billy Joel’s first wife now?
Here in this article, we shall find out all the answers to your burning questions. Let’s go.
The Marriage of Elizabeth Ann Weber and Billy Joel was Full of Controversies
The former duo first met through Elizabeth’s then-husband and Billy’s friend and band partner Jon Small in the 1970s. She was in a marital relationship with Jon and even had a son, Sean. Despite knowing the fact that Elizabeth was married to his best friend at that time and even had a baby together, Billy fell in love with Elizabeth from the moment he laid his eyes on her.
Moreover, in an interview, he expressed the thought process that went through his mind when he saw Elizabeth for the first time. He said:
“She wasn’t like a lot of the other girls I knew at that time who had taken home ec and cooking classes,” he told Schruers. “She was . . . intelligent and not afraid to speak her mind, but could also be seductive. Almost like a European-type — not a typical American girl.”
The ex-couple were having affairs behind Jon’s back; cheating on him as a friend and as his wife. However, when Small found out about the betrayal he was heartbroken and decided to leave the band; and soon things got out in the media, after which Weber decided to leave them both and disappear for weeks.
Elizabeth Weber’s Then Hubby, Billy Attempted Suicide Twice!
The most unforgivable thing you can do is to betray someone’s trust and cheat on someone by having an affair with their wife behind their back which is quite regretful, but Billy just did that to his friend/bandmate Jon Small.
So, after losing his friendship and the love of his life, Joel at 21 was in pain that he overdosed himself on Nembutal, and full of guilt he called Jon to ask for forgiveness. However, Small sensed something was wrong; he immediately rushed to Joel’s mom’s home where he found him collapsed on the floor.
Billy explained to the author Schruers
“The next thing I remember, I woke up in the hospital and learned that they had pumped my stomach.”
He added:
“I thought to myself, ‘Oh, great, I couldn’t even do this right.’ It was another failure.”
A couple of weeks passed, and everything seemed normal until Joel’s suicidal instinct kicked in again. He tried to take his life by drinking furniture polish. Thankfully, his life was saved by a family member and after being discharged he went to a mental hospital where he checked in for three weeks.
He told Schruers: “The people I was locked up with were never going to be able to overcome their problems, whereas mine were all self-made. I can fix this, I thought.”
The Former Pair Elizabeth Ann and Billy were Finally in a Real Relationship
After staying in the mental hospital for three weeks, Billy decided to fix his problems himself. He started writing and medicating with the help of cigarettes and alcohol.
Soon after many back-and-forths, he got in touch with the love of his life; the two love birds decided to tie the knot in Sept of 1973.
Billy Joel’s Songs, Inspired by his First Wife Elizabeth Ann Weber
Joel was deeply and madly in love with his then-wife Elizabeth and also took her as an inspiration to create some of his greatest hits. Songs like “She’s Got a Way”, Just The Way You Are and She’s Always a Woman was dedicated to her. Additionally, she was also the driving force behind Joel’s single ‘Piano Man‘ (1973).
Eventually, Joel hired Ann as his manager because she was a tough negotiator and handle the business and contract deal better than Billy himself. However, because of her attitude, people started calling her “Unfeminine.”
Elizabeth Couldn’t Resist the Temptation of Wanting More Money
Her behavior was always changing when it came down to money. She was never shy when asking for money from her ex-husband Joel. Sadly, Elizabeth was only in love with the money Billy had but not him. She even took paychecks as his manager and benefited from lots of his songs and compositions.
There was an occurrence where Billy wholeheartedly wrote the song “Just The Way You Are” as a gift on her birthday to which her reply was “Do I get the publishing, too?” She wasn’t fooling around.
Furthermore, if you think she was through, to add more to the mix, Elizabeth brought her brother, Frank, to join the party.
Billy Joel and his First Wife Elizabeth Ann Weber Divorce
The couple filed for divorce in 1982, to which Billy was still hopeful his marriage would last, and to negotiate he still went and bought everything that Elizabeth wanted. The famous singer bought her a $4 million mansion but sadly all his efforts were in vain.
However, not too long after Joel had a motorcycle accident where he broke both of his hands, and the still madly in love singer/songwriter was hoping that she would come to visit him.
Elizabeth came but it wasn’t what Billy was hoping for. She came with a contract in her hands asking him to hand over everything to her. He said remembering the turn of events:
“I may have acted like an idiot a time or two, but I’m not a complete idiot.”. He then added, “That killed it right there and there.”
Billy and Elizabeth separated following the incident in 1982. The six times Grammy Award singer’s ex-wife stayed with her son in the same house Joel had bought for her till 1997, but then she sold it for $3.74 million.
Elizabeth’s Brother Frank Filed for Bankruptcy
It was a shock when Frank Elizabeth’s brother sided with his brother-in-law instead of his sister at the time of divorce. So, Frank was still working as Joel’s overseer and financial adviser, which the singer remembers saying was one of the biggest mistakes of his life.
Not too long after, Elizabeth’s ex-hubby found out about Frank’s truth that he was stealing over $30 million from him. Hence, in 1989, Billy sued his then-brother-in-law for $30 million and an additional $60 million in punitive damages.
However, Billy had to settle for $3 million after Frank filed for bankruptcy in 1990. Joel said: “I hooked up with the Borgias! What a family to pick.”
Elizabeth Ann Weber’s Net Worth
The first wife of the legendary singer/songwriter was the talk of the media until her divorce in 1982 just nine years after getting married. But soon after parting ways, it seems like she has completely disappeared. There is not much information available regarding her work or net worth details.
However, we can speculate that she had gathered a lot of wealth during her time working for Billy Joel as a manager and after receiving a ton of divorce settlements.
Whereas the famous singer who produced a lot of hit songs Billy Joel is estimated to have a total fortune of $225 million.
The Life of Former Couple Elizabeth Weber and Billy Joel after Divorce, Their Marital Status
After separating from her then-husband Elizabeth Ann Weber’s life is a complete mystery. It is unclear whether the lady in her 70s is married or not. There aren’t any facts to support this theory.
Whereas, Billy (73) the multimillionaire singer and songwriter married three times after parting ways with Elizabeth Ann Weber.
He was married to Christie Brinkley from 1985 to 1994 and shared a child Alexa Ray Joel, Katie Lee from 2004 to 2009, and he is currently in a relationship with Alexis Roderick, with whom he married in 2015. The lovely couple shares two daughters, Della Rose Joel and Remy Anne Joel. Let’s hope that this marriage will last him until the end of time.
