brinkley lives on long island in sag harbor, new york; she previously lived in bridgehampton and amagansett, long island. she and her children are fans of the new york islanders ice hockey team. brinkley began doing promotions for the team after being noticed at games. in 2007, she showed her support by writing a blog for nhl.com and filming a commercial. brinkley helped found a club for cutting, an equestrian sport in which a rider has two and one half minutes to cut as many cattle from a herd as they can.