While many Billy Joel fans know that his first wife, Elizabeth Weber, was originally married to his bandmate Jon Small, they may not be aware that Elizabeth and Jon had a son, Sean Weber-Small, who lived with Billy and Elizabeth during their marriage. In the new Billy Joel documentary And So It Goes, part one of which premiered Wednesday at the Tribeca Festival, Sean and Elizabeth open up for the first time about their relationship with The Piano Man.
“My mother and I have been silent about any of our time with Billy since really 1983,” Sean tells People. “Those memories we had, they were ours. So I’ve kind of felt like by talking about them, it would kind of cheapen them somehow, if that makes any weird sense.”
As for why they’re speaking now, Sean says, “My mom didn’t get her due for a long time and kept her mouth shut, and kind of, in my opinion, took the high road. So people are going to get to hear her story and our story.”
While he, his mom and Billy lived together as a family, Sean tells People, “Billy was always really clear that I had a dad. He wasn’t my dad.” He described Billy as more of a “conspiratorial uncle” with whom he was “always getting into trouble.”
Sean says after Billy and Elizabeth split, he would see Billy if they happened to be in the same place at the same time, and also kept in touch via phone and email. He says looking back on his time with Billy via the film has been “healing.”
And So It Goes, which will premiere on HBO in July, also details Billy’s two pre-fame suicide attempts, his drinking and his reckless behavior with motorcycles.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
