Billy Joel Has New Flame in Former Soap Star

ABOVE: The piano man picks up a guitar for an ’80s hit that is sure to be stuck in your head all day long, “We Didn’t Start the Fire”

Billy Joel is apparently in a romantic state of mind again, striking up a new relationship with former ‘Young and the Restless’ star Alex Donnelley whom he met backstage at his July 11 concert in Washington, DC, according to the Web site Popeater.com.

“The two hit it off immediately,” an insider told the entertainment site, which is reporting that the actress, 49, has been spending a lot of time at Joel’s home in New York’s Sag Harbor.

Joel, 60, and his much younger third wife, 27-year-old Katie Lee, announced last month they were splitting after five years. The rumor mill speculated that the breakup might be due to Lee’s flirtations with fashion designer Yigal Azrouel, 36, but Joel’s rep denied this, saying it was strictly related to the large age difference between the two.

Joel reportedly had a prenup in place when he married Lee in October 2004. His nine-year marriage to Christie Brinkley, the mother of their daughter Alexa, ended in 1994. His first marriage, to Elizabeth Weber, also lasted nine years.