Paulina Porizkova opened up about her turbulent marriage to the late Ric Ocasek, revealing that the former Cars frontman controlled much of her life when they were together. The model, 56, spoke to Amanda de Cadenet on her podcast The Conversation With Amanda de Cadenet last week, recalling how she misconstrued his “obsession” as love.
The model met her husband at the age of 19, after she was cast to star in the music video for the Car’s “Drive” in 1984. They wed five years later. “I construed his interest as love, but for him, I think it was more of an obsession,’ Paulina told Amanda. “He was obsessed with me, and because he was obsessed with me, it felt like the ultimate love.”
She continued, “He didn’t want me to do anything. He didn’t want me to go anywhere. He wanted me to be within his circle at all times. I was his soul emotional provider for everything, and I confused that with love. I thought that that’s what love was, to be sort of this treasured object that you won’t let out of your sight.”
Paulina recalled how Ric controlled many aspects of her life. “He took me under his wing, he told me what to wear, he told me what to do,” she said. “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.”
The model explained why she stayed in the relationship. “I feel like I wanted that so desperately. I wanted that kind of attention. I wanted that kind of love. I wanted everything that he gave me, and he gave me a lot for many, many years,’ she said, adding that despite the troubles, Ric was a good father to their sons, Jonathan, 28, and Oliver, 23.
Paulina and Ric were married between 1989 and 2019. During their separation, Ric died in September 2019 from heart disease at the age of 75. The musician cut Paulina out of his will not long before his death, claiming that she “abandoned” him amid their separation. In October, the model reached a settlement with Ric’s estate that allowed her to receive her share of his money.
