Billy Joel's First Wife Addresses His Brain Disorder Diagnosis

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a day ago

Originally appeared on E! Online
Billy Joel is still rock and roll to Elizabeth Weber.
More than four decades after their divorce, the 'Uptown Girl' singer's first wife offered rare insight into their nine-year union, noting that his success came as no surprise to her.
'He's worked so hard all of his life,' Elizabeth exclusively told E! News at the Tribeca Festival premiere of Billy Joel: And So It Goes in New York City June 4. 'I've never known anybody who worked harder than he did in all those years we were together and working together.'
While the Grammy winner was absent from the red carpet event following his recent diagnosis with the brain disorder normal pressure hydrocephalus, his ex was among those wishing him—as well as wife Alexis Joel—well.
'I just want him to be restored to good health so he can enjoy his life and his wife and his children. He earned that,' Elizabeth continued. 'The restoration of his good health is all I really care about.' (For more from the Tribeca Festival, tune into E! News tonight, June 5 at 11 p.m.)
Keep reading to see other stars who've spoken out about their health.
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Although Billy and Elizabeth, both 76, parted ways in 1982, she still considers herself a fan of his music, though she couldn't pick a personal favorite.
'There's too many of them,' she explained, 'and they're all marvelous.'
So it's no surprise to her that fans still can't get enough of his vast selection of hits.
'Someone can be in the audience and look at him and say, 'That could be me,'' Elizabeth went on. 'Not everybody can be an unnamed pianist who sings, but everyone thinks that they could do that or be that.'
As for Billy—who shares kids Della Rose, 9, and Remy, 7, with Alexis as well as Alexa Ray, 39, with ex-wife —he announced last month that he was canceling all of his upcoming tour dates as he fights a condition known as normal pressure hydrocephalus, which causes fluid to build up in the skull.
'I'm sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience,' the musician said in a press release shared on Instagram in May, 'and thank you for understanding.'
Keep reading to see other stars who've spoken out about their health.
Brian Austin GreenAdam DevineJason Tartick's Back InjuryCasey Fitzgerald's Neck Injury From Hockey Skate BladeMatt Kirschenheiter's Heart AttackTracy Morgan's Medical EmergencyChristy Carlson Romano's Eye InjuryAmy Schumer's Cushing SyndromeHailey Bieber's Blood ClotJustin Bieber's Ramsay Hunt SyndromeJamie Foxx's Brain Bleed & StrokeEmilia Clarke's Brain AneurysmCori Broadus's StrokeShailene Woodley's Health Battle
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