Getty Alba Jancou pictured in August 2019 in Water Mill, New York.
Alba Jancou is a 21-year-old college student who is engaged to Christie Brinkley’s 60-year-old ex-husband Peter Cook.
Brinkley, 65, and Cook have a daughter together, Sailor, 21. On October 28, it was widely reported that Cook and Jancou were engaged. Cook tells the New York Post that Jancou is his “soulmate” and that they are “looking forward to many years of wedded bliss.” The couple has been together for a year.
Brinkley married Cook, an architect, in 1996. Sailor Brinkley-Cook was born two years later and followed in her mom’s footsteps as a model when she was a teenager; Sailor also recently took her mom’s place on Dancing With the Stars when Brinkley was injured during rehearsal.
But what do we know about Jancou, this new blonde beauty in Cook’s life? Here’s what you need to know about her.
1. Jancou Is the Same Age as Peter Cook & Christie Brinkley’s Daughter, Sailor
Jancou is a 21-year-old college student who formerly studied at Tulane University in New Orleans, according to a now-deleted LinkedIn profile. The profile also listed her adolescent schooling as Millfield, which is a private boarding school in Somerset, England. Page Six reports that Jancou is now a psychology student in New York.
That gives Jancou and Cook a 39-year age difference and makes her the same age as his daughter, Sailor. But, as it says on Jancou’s Instagram profile, she is “too busy working on [her] own grass to notice if yours is greener.”
2. Alba Jancou’s Parents, Tanya Bonakdar & Marc Janou, Are Art Gallery Owners
Jancou’s parents are Tanya Bonakdar, 53, and Marc Jancou, 51, who once owned a gallery together in New York City. Bonakdar now owns two solo galleries, one in New York and one in Los Angeles, while Marc Jancou also has his own gallery in New York.
According to his website, Marc Jancou opened his first gallery in 1991 and has worked to develop “both established and emerging artists alike” ever since. Alba Jancou interened at her mother’s gallery during her junior year in college.
Bonakdar, meanwhile, founded her New York City gallery in 1994 and opened the Los Angeles space in 2018. Her aim is to “support the careers and work” of the artists she features “in dialogue with audiences and institutions around the world.” In a 2014 interview, Bonakdar was asked about her advice to aspiring art dealers. Bonakdar said, “Be a gallerist rather than a dealer is a very important thing. Trust your instincts.”
3. The Couple Is Planning a Destination Wedding in Europe
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The pair met two years ago at Le Bilboquet, a swanky New York restaurant, but they didn’t start dating until about a year ago. Then they really went public with their relationship this past summer, appearing together at a number of events, like the Hamptons magazine party celebrating Bobby Flay’s cover or the East Hampton Artists and Writers Charity Softball Game.
Cook actually proposed back in September, in Santorini, Greece, with a six-carat ring designed by Glenn Bradford, and the couple says they’re planning a destination wedding in Europe.
Interestingly, guess who sported some Bradford jewelry in a 2017 Social Life Magazine shoot? Christie Brinkley.
4. Jancou Is Frequently Spotted at Exclusive Parties in the Hamptons
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It isn’t just Bobby Flay’s Hamptons magazine cover party where Jancou has stepped out on the town. She has also been photographed at the Manhattan Magazine and Mensbook.com party for Aaron Paul’s cover, the Hamptons Magazine fall fashion issue party and the Hampton Classic Horse Show to Benefit Stony Brook Southampton Hospital.
At the Manhattan Magazine party, Jancou posed with fellow New York socialites Anna Kassar and Soraya Tufano. Kassar was also spotted with Jancou and Cook at the Hampton horse show.
Jancou maintains a page at Depop, a site for selling second-hand clothes. The only item that Jancou is selling at the time of writing are a pair of $245 Yves Saint Laurent sandals.
5. Cook’s Previous Wife Accused Him of Having a ‘Pathological Predilection’ for Younger Women
Facebook/Alba Jancou
Jancou will be Cook’s third wife. Brinkley was his first, followed by Suzanne Shaw, whom he divorced in 2014. Both marriages ended because of his philandering. In fact, Brinkley tried to warn Shaw about Cook’s cheating during a court hearing in 2012, according to Page Six.
“When you find out he’s been cheating on you, I’ll be here for you,” Brinkley said at the time.
Later, when Shaw was embroiled in her divorce from Cook, she apologized to Brinkley for dismissing her two years earlier. Shaw wrote in a letter, “I’m deeply sorry for my part in causing Christie any unnecessary pain. Unfortunately, I fell under Peter’s spell, but now that the reality of who he is has been revealed, I regret my involvement. Christie is a wonderful mother and community member who involves herself in charitable causes and has truly made a contribution to society.” Page Six reported that Shaw accused Cook of having a “secret pathological predilection” for young women.
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