Who Is Billy Joel's Wife? All About Alexis Roderick

Publish date: 2024-05-07

Billy Joel and Alexis Roderick first met at a restaurant in 2009.

The pair wed in 2015 — marking Joel's fourth marriage. Roderick and the "Piano Man" singer went on to welcome daughters Della Rose and Remy Anne. The former competitive equestrian is also a stepmom to Joel's eldest daughter, Alexa Ray, whom he shares with ex-wife Christie Brinkley.

While the couple have been together for over a decade, they prefer to keep their relationship private. Even their 2015 summer wedding was a surprise to family and friends.

So, who is Billy Joel's wife? Keep reading for everything there is to know about Alexis Roderick.

She met Joel in 2009

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In his New Yorker profile, Joel recalled the night he first met Roderick or "A-Rod," as he affectionately calls her. He and Roderick were each with a group of friends at a restaurant in Huntington, New York. Not being able to take his eyes off her, Joel went over and introduced himself. He left Roderick's table with her number. At the end of his meal, Joel called Roderick while he was still sitting across the room from her and asked if she could drive him home.

She wasn't interested in Joel at first

Despite his confidence in the restaurant, Roderick wasn't immediately smitten. She drove Joel back to his home on Centre Island, a peninsula on Long Island's North Shore, and when he offered to play her something on the piano, she turned him down — but that didn't stop Joel. "It was like he couldn't not be 'Billy Joel' at that moment," Roderick told the New Yorker.

Joel played a piece by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff on his grand piano, a move he picked up from the 1955 romantic comedy The Seven Year Itch. His ploy seemed to have worked because they soon started dating and not too long after, Roderick moved into Joel's Centre Island home.

She used to work on Wall Street

Roderick is a former executive at Morgan Stanley. However, she left the industry shortly before marrying Joel in 2015.

She married Joel in 2015 in a surprise wedding

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After six years of dating, Joel and Roderick tied the knot in a surprise wedding at Joel's Oyster Bay estate on Long Island on July 4, 2015. Family and friends gathered at the estate for the couple's annual Fourth of July party but instead were treated to a surprise ceremony. Joel's daughter Alexa gave the wedding speech and his longtime friend, former governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, acted as the officiant.

Roderick — who was pregnant with their first child at the time — wore a strapless ivory beaded gown. The couple curated a decadent menu for their big day and the night was capped off with sky lanterns and fireworks.

She is a mother

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Roderick and Joel are parents to two daughters, Della Rose and Remy Anne. Della was born on Aug. 12, 2015, a month after her parents' surprise wedding. Then, on Oct. 22, 2017, she became a big sister when the couple welcomed their second daughter, Remy.

Due to Joel's international fame, the girls are no strangers to the spotlight. They've performed at Madison Square Garden with their dad on several occasions, and in February 2024, they walked the red carpet with Joel and Roderick at the Grammys.

As for their taste in music, Della and Remy are big fans of Taylor Swift. Joel and Roderick took their daughters to see the "Cruel Summer" singer's Tampa, Florida, concert in April 2023.

She is an equestrian

Billy Joel Instagram

Roderick is an accomplished equestrian. She used to compete competitively and is an active member of the United States Equestrian Federation.

In 2018, Joel gifted her with a five-acre horse ranch in Wellington, Florida, a prominent equestrian community, per the Daily Mail. The estate features a 12-stall barn with groom quarters, a tack room, five paddocks and a regulation-size dressage ring with mirrors.

Now, Roderick rides recreationally and it looks like her daughters are beginning to follow in their mom's footsteps. In birthday tributes for Della and Remy on Instagram, Joel included photos of the girls in their professional riding attire and at the competition track.

Joel named his boat after her

Roy Rochlin/Getty

In his spare time, Joel likes to design and collect recreational lobster boats. Among his most prized boats are the Vendetta, a 57-foot powerboat, and a dwarf lobster boat that he named Oyster Babe, after Roderick, as he told the New Yorker.

She is on good terms with Joel's ex-wives

Joel's second wife, Brinkley, offered her best wishes to the couple following their surprise wedding. "Congratulations to the glowing bride and groom. And to my daughter, Alexa, who has a wonderful friend in Alexis! Wishing the growing family every happiness!" the model wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of the bride and groom.

Cookbook author Katie Lee, Joel's third wife, also had nice things to say about the couple and their growing family. "I'm really happy for them. He's a great guy, he deserves all the happiness in the world, and he's a terrific father, so I'm really, really happy," she told Extra in 2015.

She has Irish roots

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Joel was scheduled to play at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in June 2018. In a joint interview with the Belfast Telegraph, the couple said they were excited to explore and show then-2-year-old Della the land of her ancestors. "I have Irish in me,'' Roderick told the outlet. "It is my grandmother's father who is Irish. My mom's maiden name is Bridges."

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