Christie Brinkley's Custody Battle Turns Catty

June 24, 2012— -- Christie Brinkley and ex-husband Peter Cook went their separate ways in 2008, but the battle raged on this week.

The former couple were back in court on Friday, when Brinkley was seen approaching Cook's new wife, Suzanne Shaw, and telling her, "When you find out he's been cheating on you, I'll be here for you."

Shaw told her to "come up with a new line," and later told reporters that Brinkley was "stuck," adding "She can't move on."

"The new wife would have been well advised to keep her mouth shut and stay classy as we say," said ABC Consultant and publicist Howard Bragman. "I think it would have helped her image as opposed to getting in the gutter, and that would have made Christie look like the one in the gutter."

The heated exchange follows months of turmoil between the ex-spouses, who had been married for ten years and had one child together.

Cook also adopted Brinkley's 16-year-old son from a previous marriage. The custody battle has raged on since 2008, with both parties turning to the press to attack one another in recent months.

In March, Cook told ABCNews that Brinkley publically castrated him and threw the family "under the bus" to generate publicity for her return to Broadway in "Chicago." Speaking to the New York Daily News, she accused him of plotting a "smear campaign" against her and "intimidation," following his 91-page court filing that alleged she owed him money.

The November before, Brinkley filed court documents claiming Cook sent her "aggressive emails" and failed to pay child support. She sought $140,000 in fines and $32,000 for the children. Cook demanded $200,000 for similar accusations.

The marriage crumbled in 2008, when Cook confessed he had an affair with an 18-year-old woman and viewed online pornography.

Bragman said their children will suffer the most because despite Cook's and Brinkley's best intentions to protect them, "they are still in the middle of two parents who hate each other."