Inside The Cars' Frontman Ric Ocasek and Paulina Porizkova's Decades-Long Relationship
Ric Ocasek, the legendary frontman for the iconic rock band, The Cars, died on Sunday at the age of 75.
The musician was reportedly found dead in New York City on Sunday, according to Entertainment Weekly, and reports from Page Six say that he was found unconscious and unresponsive in his Manhattan townhouse by his estranged wife, fashion model Paulina Porizkova.
Porizkova, 54, and Ocasek shared nearly 30 years and two sons together as a married couple, and their love story was one the supermodel felt was unlike any other. In 2018, after announcing that they had amicably split after 28 years of marriage, she told Closer Weekly that she didn’t think she would find a love quite like it ever again.
“I feel like I’ve had my soulmate,” she told the outlet at the time.
Love Before First Sight
The celebrity power couple first met in 1984 on set of the music video for The Cars’ new single, “Drive.” Then 18 years old, Porizkova was featured in the video and had already developed a crush on Ocasek before officially meeting him. She had seen him on MTV and called it “love before first sight,” according to EW.
RELATED: Paulina Porizkova Speaks Out One Day After Former Husband Ric Ocasek’s Death
Intimate St. Barts Wedding
After five years of dating, the model and rocker tied the knot on Aug. 23, 1989, in a private ceremony on the Caribbean island of St. Barts.
Porizkova described the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer as “a combination of Mr. Spock, David Bowie, Jesus Christ, and Chopin” — her “perfect man,” according to Entertainment Weekly.
RELATED: Ric Ocasek, The Cars Frontman and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Dies at 75
Growing Family
In 1993, the celebrity couple welcomed their first son together, Jonathan. They later welcomed their second son, Oliver, in 1999.
Ocasek also has four children, Christopher, Adam, Eron and Derek Ocasek, from previous relationships.
“It used to be fun to show my kids how to use them, how to put the needle on the tracks, and how to pick it up and move it if you want to change the track,” he said in an interview with the Vinyl District this year about playing vinyl records with his children.
Porizkova Calls Ocasek ‘Sexier’ Than George Clooney
Regardless of sometimes being dubbed “The Beauty and the Beast,”, Porizkova felt there was no one quite as eye-catching as Ocasek.
“Well, I guess I have a different kind of taste. I don’t go for pretty boys — they don’t age well. Have you noticed this?” Paulina told The Huffington Post in 2017. “But the reason I may take George Clooney is not for his looks, but because he’s really smart and funny. I will close my eyes if I have to … My husband is the sexiest man in the world, 27 years later!”
No Longer Pedaling ‘In Unison’
Last May, Ocasek and Porizkova announced that they had split after 28 years of marriage.
“Our family always has been — and still is — a well-built car,” Porizkova wrote in an Instagram post at the time. “When the four of us are together, we can go wherever the road takes us. But as a bicycle, my husband and I no longer pedal in unison. So we’re ditching the bicycle.”
The Czech-born actress also revealed that the couple had already been split for quite some time, adding, “Ric and I have been peacefully separated for the past year. The photos of our happy family are, in fact, happy family photos; we are just no longer a couple.”
Though separated, they were not legally divorced prior to his death.
