Model Paulina Porizkova Speaks Out About Former Husband Ric Ocasek’s Death

Model Paulina Porizkova is is speaking out about her former husband and Cars frontman Ric Ocasek death. He died at 75 on Sept. 15 in his New York City home.

Despite their separation, the two remained close, and Porizkova reveals what drew her to the man she says looked like “an upside-down exclamation point,” and who could seem “aloof” and “withdrawn.” To Porizkova, what stood out about her husband was his “incredible gentleness.” “When he looked at you and smiled, it was like, ‘Oh, my God, he smiled at me! The sun came out—it’s amazing!”

Police were called to Ocasek’s residence on Sept. 15 and pronounced him dead at the scene. Ocasek died of natural causes, determining that hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease was the cause of death and that pulmonary emphysema was a contributing condition, meaning that he suffered from high blood pressure, a chronic lung condition and a buildup of fats, cholesterol and other substances his arteries.

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Porizkova was the one to find him in his home after he had died in his sleep after he had undergone surgery two weeks earlier.

“I don’t know how much I want to say about the surgery, but it was successful. He was recuperating really well,” she told USA Today. “So his passing was a f—ing shock.”

Porizkova, who shares sons Oliver, 21 and Jonathan, 25, with the singer, told the outlet she brought over cookies to Ocasek’s home the night before he died.

Porizkova said she returned the following morning and figured Ocasek was still sleeping, but when she checked on him a later she realized something was wrong.

“I did some chores and then it was 11, and I thought, ‘This is weird, there’s something not right about this,'” she said. “I poured the coffee and came upstairs to give it to him and he was in the exact same position; he hadn’t even moved a little bit. And, at that point, I knew, but I couldn’t believe it.”

Ocasek and Porizkova, first met while filming the music video for The Cars’ song “Drive” in 1984. They announced divorce in May 2018 after 28 years of marriage. However, they were not legally divorced prior to his death.