Christie Brinkley defends ex John Mellencamp over 'convoluted' split report

John Mellencamp's ex-girlfriend Christie Brinkley has blasted a "convoluted" tabloid report suggesting his "redneck ways" contributed to the couple's split.

The Jack & Diane singer began dating former supermodel Christie last summer (15), but on Tuesday (09Aug16), the couple announced it had called time on its year-long romance, and a representative for the pair revealed the stars' busy schedules had put a strain on their long-distance relationship, as Billy Joel's ex-wife lives in the Hamptons, New York, while John is based in Indiana.

"Both the mileage between their homes and their heavy career demands interfered with their ability to maintain the relationship," the spokesperson told People.com. "They vowed to remain best of friends."

However, the joint statement wasn't enough for New York Post columnist Richard Johnson and he ran an article titled, "So long, Mr. Too Right", in which sources claimed Brinkley had dumped Mellencamp because she had had enough of his "hellbent political opinions and his redneck ways".

In the piece, Johnson alleged Mellencamp "sometimes sounds like a Donald Trump supporter" and didn't fit in with the friends Christie socialises with in the Hamptons, because he "shoots straight from the hip".

The allegations did not sit well with Brinkley and she took to Instagram to blast the unfounded claims.

"While much has been written over the years about me that I simply allow to roll off my back... I do stand up for my friends when things seem unfair and this is the case here," she captioned a shot of the offending article.

"On the heels of a mutual statement...which clearly explained that distance and work were all that stood in the way of our relationship... comes this convoluted article."

The blonde beauty goes on to make it known she and Mellencamp are "both patriotic Americans" who support Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, revealing her ex has just allowed the former Secretary of State to use one of his tunes for her White House campaign against Republican nominee Donald Trump.