Billy Joel Opens Up About Painful Moments in Upcoming Documentary

Billy Joel shares some of the toughest experiences of his life in the new documentary titled “Billie Joel: And That.” The 76-year-old musician reflects on the time when his first wife, Elizabeth Weber, ended their marriage shortly after he was severely injured in a motorcycle accident.

In the film, Joel speaks candidly about his passion for motorcycles, stating, “I’ve always romanticized motorcycles. There’s something liberating about it, a kind of detachment from the world.” However, he admits that his love for riding always came with a hint of fear, which is something Elizabeth frequently reminded him about.

Joel recalls the day of the 1982 crash when he collided with a vehicle, resulting in numerous injuries. “I was shocked I survived. I should have died that day,” he recalls. While he lay in the hospital recovering from broken limbs, Weber chose to leave their marriage. Speaking about her decision, she said she couldn’t support someone whose reckless choices threatened his life.

She reflected on that moment: “I told him, ‘I think one day they might write about us,’ to which he replied, ‘I hope they can say we’ve been there for a long time.’” It was a bittersweet moment, marking the end of their nearly decade-long marriage.

Despite the pain from the motorcycle crash, Joel felt it was his lifestyle that had taken its toll. “After my album ‘Glass Houses,’ I was always on the road, working. I look back now and don’t even recognize who I was then,” he shared. That period led to intense stress and an unhealthy relationship with alcohol and drugs.

Elsewhere in the documentary, Joel reveals the deep emotional turmoil he faced, even attempting suicide twice, which led to a coma. The circumstances surrounding these attempts involved his complex relationship with Weber, who was married to his close friend at the time. Confessing his feelings to Weber, Joel admitted, “I’m in love with your wife.” The ensuing guilt weighed heavily on him, contributing to a downward spiral in his life.

Joel described a time when he found himself homeless, and depression took hold. “I didn’t want to live anymore; it all felt unbearable,” he recounted. His sister narrated how she thought she had lost him after he collapsed from an overdose of sleeping pills she had given him to ease his restless nights.

Through all these struggles, Joel acknowledged the complexity of his experiences and feelings, ensuring that his story was not one of straightforward triumph or failure, but rather a reflection of the disarray that often accompanies life’s challenges.