Alexa Ray Joel could tell her dad Billy Joel was about to get divorced

When Billy Joel, 60, and his super-talkative child bride were on Oprah last year, I could tell that Katie, 27, didn't get along with Joel's 23 year-old daughter, Alexa Ray. Oprah asked Katie about her relationship with Alexa and she didn't really answer the question, demurring gracious to say 'Alexa is really a special person to me. She was my maid of honor in my wedding actually, and I'm always impressed by her. She has so much talent and grace. She's just really special.'

Now that Billy and Katie have announced their impending divorce after five years of marriage, Alexa says she knew it was coming. In her statement she doesn't sound all that broken up over it:

Billy Joel's split from wife Katie came as no surprise to Alexa Ray Joel, the music man's 23-year-old daughter with Christie Brinkley.

'I have a pretty good woman's intuition, so I could tell,' Alexa told PEOPLE at the sixth annual Wayuu Taya Foundation Gala at the Stephan Weiss Studio in New York City Wednesday night. 'I know my dad very well.'

The couple announced their separation in a statement June 17 after nearly five years of marriage. Joel says she first heard the news from her dad.

'He was the first person to talk to me,' says Alexa. 'Of course, being who he is, you can't just trust everybody. I like knowing that my father can come to me.'

Despite her parents' troubled marriage record, Alexa says has hardly sworn off the idea of one day getting hitched herself - although she dispels rumors of a romance with John Mayer. 'I would love to get married. Having seen what I've seen, sure I have a different perspective on marriage, but I'm a true romantic, and I will be having a wedding at one point.'

Meanwhile, Joel says she stands behind her dad: 'He's a strong man. He'll get through this, and I'm going to help him.'

[From People]

Can you imagine if one of your parents remarried someone who was just a few years older than you? That's got to be an awkward situation. In Katie and Billy Joel's Oprah interview, Katie definitely seemed to have the dominant personality and did most of the talking. She claimed their relationship worked despite the over 30 year age difference because 'He has this job that's allowed him to be really immature for a long time - rock star, and I happen to be more mature for my age so we meet somewhere in the middle.' It's not surprising that it didn't last. I only wonder if we'll hear more about their troubled marriage when their divorce proceeds. We sure heard plenty of explosive details when Billy's ex, Christie Brinkley, divorced her last husband.

Alexa Ray Joel is shown on 6/17/09. Katie Lee Joel and Billy Joel are shown in 2007. Credit: WENN.com