Elizabeth Weber stole the spotlight at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, opening up about her scandalous affair with Billy Joel that drove him to two suicide attempts and inspired hits like “Just the Way You Are.” The HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes dives deep into their messy love story and her role in his rise to fame.
Elizabeth Weber, Billy Joel’s first wife and muse, made waves on June 4, 2025, at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City during the premiere of the HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes. Joined by her son Sean Small, Weber shared raw details about her affair with Joel while married to his bandmate Jon Small, a betrayal that sent Joel into a spiral of despair but also fueled his musical genius.
A Love Affair That Shook Joel’s World
Back in the early 1970s, Elizabeth Weber was married to Jon Small, Joel’s bandmate in the rock duo Attila, when she and a then-22-year-old Joel fell hard for each other. Living under the same roof with Small and their son Sean, Weber described their connection as “intense but complicated” in the documentary. When Joel confessed to Small, “I’m in love with Elizabeth,” Small decked him, and Weber walked out on both, leaving Joel crushed. “I was a mess, couldn’t see a way forward,” Joel said, per People, recounting how he overdosed on sleeping pills, slipping into a coma. His sister Judy Molinari, who unknowingly gave him the pills, thought she’d “lost him forever.” A second attempt, drinking lemon Pledge, was thwarted when Small rushed Joel to the hospital, saving his life despite their rift. “Jon’s the reason I’m here,” Joel admitted.
From Heartbreak to Chart Topping Hits
Weber’s exit pushed Joel to pour his pain into music, crafting his 1971 debut Cold Spring Harbor with “She’s Got a Way” as a love letter to her. “You could hear his heart breaking in those chords,” Small said, per the Daily Mail. After reconciling, Weber and Joel married in 1973, with her taking the reins as his manager. Her bold call to push “Just the Way You Are” from 1977’s The Stranger as a single—against label doubts—catapulted Joel to stardom, hitting No. 3 on Billboard and snagging two Grammys. “Elizabeth saw what I couldn’t,” Joel said in the documentary. Weber also inspired “Piano Man” as the “waitress practicing politics” while Joel played LA bars as Bill Martin. Their 1982 divorce, amid Joel’s drinking and financial disputes, didn’t erase her mark on hits like “She’s Always a Woman”.
Weber’s Emotional Tribeca Reveal
At 76, Elizabeth Weber’s Tribeca appearance on June 4 was a rare moment in the public eye. “It was messy, chaotic, but it was us,” she said of her and Joel’s relationship, per The New York Times. With Sean by her side, she reflected on her dual role as muse and manager, crediting her belief in Joel’s talent for his breakthrough. The documentary, trending since its premiere, paints Weber as the backbone of Joel’s early career, with The Stranger selling 10 million copies. Fans have flooded social platforms, praising her influence while grappling with the affair’s fallout. The Indian Express noted Weber’s “steely resolve” in navigating Joel’s volatile early years.
Why This Hits Hard
The Elizabeth Weber and Billy Joel saga, laid bare in Billy Joel: And So It Goes, comes as Joel, now 76, faces health struggles with normal pressure hydrocephalus, canceling his 2025 tour. The documentary’s timing, with Part 1 out now and Part 2 due later in 2025 on HBO, taps into nostalgia for Joel’s classics while revealing the personal cost of his rise. Weber’s story from scandal to shaping a legend has fans rethinking songs they’ve loved for decades. With the HBO series Harry Potter and a potential Cursed Child film stirring pop culture, Weber’s Tribeca moment feels like a cultural lightning bolt.