Paulina Porizkova and Ric Ocasek had been married for almost 30 years before his passing in 2019. The supermodel is now sharing her memories from the pair’s final days together, as well as the moment she knew he was dead.
Porizkova and Ocasek’s Relationship
Porizkova and Ocasek met while filming the 1984 music video for The Cars’ single “Drive.” He was married to Suzanne Ocasek at the time but the two divorced in 1988. He and Porizkova married the following year. The couple shares two sons.
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Ocasek and Porizkova announced their separation in 2018 but continued to live together in their New York City townhouse.
The singer suffered from both hypertensive heart and coronary artery disease. Porizkova also revealed that at the time of his death, he was recovering from surgery for his Stage 0 lung cancer.
“He had surgery because they’d found stage 0 lung cancer,” she said while appearing on a recent episode of Red Table Talk. “And he was recovering really well. Two weeks [later], he was walking around, he was starting to feel much better, he was sleeping better. And this night, he said, ‘You know what, I’m feeling kinda tired.'”
Porizkova Recalls Moment She Knew He Was Dead
The next morning, Porizkova recalled that he slept late, but didn’t think anything of it, saying he “tended to sleep late” because of his “rockstar hours.” As the hours went by, Porizkova finally decided to go wake him up.
“By 11, I was like, ‘He’s sleeping in a little bit too long, so I’m going to make him a cup of coffee and I’m going to bring it up to him,'” she shared.
“I brought him a cup of coffee and he just looked like he was sleeping. … I set the coffee down next to him and that’s when I saw his face; I saw his eyes. And they didn’t look like eyes anymore.”
Her Financial Struggles Following Ocasek’s Death
Following his death, Porizkova struggled financially. Porizkova didn’t sign a prenup and Ocasek left her nothing in his will. While she did have assets, the model said she had “no cash” and had to ask friends to buy groceries for her.
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Porizkova settled with Ocasek’s estate in 2021. She has not disclosed the total amount of the settlement, but while appearing on the podcast The Originals, said she was “going to be fine.”
Porizkova and Ocasek’s marriage might have been coming to an end at the time of his death, but it’s clear Porizkova still cared for him very much. Hopefully her story will help others who have had the devastating experience of discovering their loved one at the time of their passing.