Billy Joel is dating.  Again.  Already.  You may recall that he and wife Katie Joel announced their split just last month.  According to Page Six –and take it with a grain of salt because they’re on my shit list right now for making me believe that Jennifer Love Hewitt was engaged again — Billy is seeing The Young and the Restless actress Alex Donnelley.  Page Six’s source says that the two met backstage during one of Billy’s concerts and now spend time together at Joel’s Sag Harbor home.

Don’t people take any post-breakup recovery time anymore?  I always need at least three months of cyber-stalking, drive-bys and Fritos for dinner before I’m ready to move on.  I guess I’m just not as resilient.

News hit the web yesterday that Billy Joel had bought a restaurant in Sag Harbor for his much-younger wife, ousted Top Chef host Katie Lee Joel. But either that story was false or that restaurant’s gonna have to be returned with a receipt, because today we learn that Billy and Katie are over.

“After nearly five years of marriage, Billy and Katie have decided to separate,” reps for the pair said in a joint statement. “This decision is the result of much thought and consideration. Billy and Katie remain caring friends, with admiration and respect for each other.”

Riiiight. They have so much respect for each other that Katie’s been boinking hottie Israeli chef Yigal Azrouel for the better part of a year. And sources inside Katie’s camp say Billy’s been no better: “It wasn’t like he was a monk when he was on tour.” They’ve both retained lawyers already, although apparently there was a pre-nup.

This is Billy Joel’s third marriage to disintegrate.

Luckily, his daughter Alexa Joel is just a few years younger than Katie. I’m sure she has a friend or two Billy can marry.