As Peter Cook’s failed marriage to supermodel Christie Brinkley is put under a microscope, Brinkley’s lawyers are quick to say his fondness for pornography makes him a deviant and bad husband. But those who create it say that porn is not to blame.

“If porn can hurt your marriage, it probably wasn’t that healthy to begin with,” says actress Joanna Angel, whose videos appear on the popular site BurningAngel.com.

Vivid Video star Meggan Mallone argues that a little bit of naughty can actually help a relationship: “The couples I know who watch porn are definitely happier. They’re more sexually liberated.”

Peter Warren, associate editor at Adult Video News, tends to agree. “It can expose people to stuff they might not have imagined and spice things up,” he says.
But when does a little spice become an obsession?

“If a guy lies, hides it or spends an exorbitant amount of money, then yes, it’s a problem,” says actress Hillary Scott, whose million-dollar contract with SexZ Pictures is one of the largest in the industry’s history. “And with all the porn you can get for free, if [Peter Cook] really spent $3,000 a month, I’d be mad, too!”

Indeed, psychologist Aline Zoldbrod believes such a compulsion is more than just a fantasy life gone haywire.

“The kind of sex that you do when you’re using porn is strictly narcissistic and self-centered,” she says. “It’s really you, you and you.”

Okay, but is it really cheating?

Angel says no. “It’s just a movie! A movie can’t come between two people.”
Brinkley might disagree. Lawyers say she discovered Cook had posted a video on the Web of himself masturbating.

“Yeah, anything interactive definitely blurs the line,” says Warren.
Still, Angel insists that Brinkley — or any woman — shouldn’t get bent out of shape over a man’s browsing history. “It’s just like watching TV,” she scoffs. “It’s something men do when they’re bored.”

Hey guys, maybe get an Xbox instead.