On Monday, Paulina Porizkova shared a rare candid snap of herself embracing late husband Ric Ocasek while reflecting on the ‘selfish kind of love’ they shared before their 27-year marriage imploded in 2017.
‘This photo captures one side of our relationship, one that was not visible to the public,’ the Czech-born 60-year-old wrote to her 1.3M Instagram followers.
‘Even though he was 21 years older, and in many ways filled in for my parents during our 35 years, it was I who was sharply protective of HIM. I wanted to help him. I wanted to mend him. I wanted to heal the little scared boy in his heart who he was so intent on protecting that he armored up against even me.’
Paulina (born Pavlína Pořízková) confessed that she wanted ‘to be loved by someone who resembled my parents’ while The Cars frontman ‘wanted to be adored by someone of public value…who would make him look good.’
‘It was selfish kind of love for both of us. But it worked beautifully for a long time,’ Porizkova wrote.
‘I like to think of it as our childhood scars being placed in such a way on our bodies, that when we embraced, they fit perfectly. Today, I will be grateful for all the years we embraced in a perfect fit – whatever the reasons.’
On Monday, Paulina Porizkova shared a rare candid snap of herself embracing late husband Ric Ocasek while reflecting on the ‘selfish kind of love’ they shared before their 27-year marriage imploded in 2017
The Czech-born 60-year-old wrote on Instagram: ‘Even though he was 21 years older, and in many ways filled in for my parents during our 35 years, it was I who was sharply protective of HIM’ (pictured in 2018)
The Estée Lauder brand ambassador originally met Ric in 1984 when she was 19 and he cast her in his band’s Drive music video.
At the time, Ocasek (born Otcasek) was still married to his second wife Suzanne LaPointe, but they didn’t divorce until 1988 after 17 years of wedded bliss.
‘He took me under his wing, he told me what to wear, he told me what to do,’ Paulina recalled on The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet in 2021.
‘I conformed to his wishes because not doing so would risk losing his love and his love was more important to me than any career or any friends or anything I wanted to read or do.
‘Of course, he was the most important man in my life, so I did everything as he desired for many, many years. And when I no longer did, that’s when things started going not so well.’
Porizkova famously found out she’d been cut from Ric’s will three weeks after she discovered him dead, age 75, from natural causes in 2019 at their $10M Gramercy Park townhouse.
‘The fact that he wanted me to get nothing, that was shocking [and] heartbreaking,’ the silver-haired model-writer lamented.
‘It just completely blew up my world and everything I knew. It’s a betrayal. It’s a betrayal of my trust and my love and everything I put into him for years and years and years. And I have no way of knowing what possessed him to do this.’
Paulina settled with his estate in 2021 and received a third of his fortune under New York state law, but the amount remains undisclosed.
Paulina confessed that she wanted ‘to be loved by someone who resembled my parents’ while The Cars frontman ‘wanted to be adored by someone of public value…who would make him look good’ (pictured in 2018)
Porizkova wrote: ‘It was selfish kind of love for both of us. But it worked beautifully for a long time. I like to think of it as our childhood scars being placed in such a way on our bodies, that when we embraced, they fit perfectly’ (pictured in 2016)
Ric was still married to his second wife Suzanne LaPointe in 1984 when he cast the then 19-year-old model in his band’s Drive music video
But Ric did not deprive his two sons – video game designer Jonathan (L, pictured in 2016), 31; and software engineer Oliver (2-R), 26 – with the silver-haired model-writer of their inheritance
After a 2021 fling with West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin, Paulina began dating sitcom producer-director Jeff Greenstein (R, pictured September 3) in 2023
The six-time Grammy nominee had also disinherited the two eldest of his six sons – Chris and Adam – from his marriage to first ex-wife Constance Campbell, which ended in 1971.
But Ric did not deprive his two sons – video game designer Jonathan Raven Ocasek, 31; and software engineer Oliver Orion Ocasek, 26 – with Porizkova of their inheritance.
After a 2021 fling with West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin, the Zara spokesmodel began dating sitcom producer-director Jeff Greenstein in 2023.
On July 9, Paulina announced her engagement to the 61-year-old Emmy winner, whom she originally met on a dating app.
Jeff co-hosts a podcast called I Dream of Cameras and he’s also worked on sitcoms like Extended Family, Friends, Will & Grace, and Desperate Housewives.
