Paulina Porizkova Recalls Bizarre 'Dare' With Late Husband Ric Ocasek

Model Paulina Porizkovatook to Instagram to recall a bizarre dare that she gave to the Cars frontman, Ric Ocasek. The two tied the knot in 1989 and were married up until his death in 2019, although they had separated and were going through the process of divorcing at the time.

The first Central European woman to appear on the cover of a Swimsuit Illustration swimsuit magazine shared a photo of her sitting in a restaurant where she gave a bizarre “dare” to her husband 39 years ago.

The “Anna” actress, now 57, took to Instagram on Monday morning with quite a story for her thousands of social media followers. She shared a photo of her sitting in a booth at the Odeon restaurant as employees work behind the divider behind her.

“I’m sitting at a table at the Odeon restaurant, the very same table where, 39 years ago, I had my first dinner with the man who would become my husband,” Paulina wrote in the caption. “We were having dinner with the whole band, their manager, and actor Timothy Hutton, but I hardly noticed anyone else but the tall, lanky and awkwardly elegant man with turquoise eyes next to me. He sat on my left, at the end of the bench.”

“At one point, in the middle of dinner, and on my dare, he stood up and walked over the a small table by the wall where a couple was having a romantic dinner,” she explained. “Without a word, he pushed condiments and food aside and then got up on the table, folding his body so the entirety of him fit right on the table top, along with the plates and food.”

“He sat there, mutely, for a minute, looking back and forth between the man and the woman, who gaped back at him,” she went on. “Then he got off, and slinked back next to me as if nothing happened. His band mates seemed to take little notice, but I thought he was the most compelling man I had ever met. Confident and funny in an absurdist Monty Python-esque way.”

“I must admit- not sure if it would have the same effect on me today,” Paulina admitted, wrapping up her post with the hashtags #betweenjloandbettywhite, #fallinginlove, #ricocasek, and tagging @theodeonnyc in her post.

Although some fans called the story "sweet" and "romantic," others felt that his behavior was "rude" and "disrespectful."

Actress and author Ali Wentworth was one of the first to comment on the post, writing, “Love that story!” Another fan agreed, writing, “Sounds like a pretty crazy story.” Another follower commented, “What a Fabulous story! It was the perfect place, the perfect time for your attention to be captured!”

However, other users didn’t think that “rude” even came close to describing his behavior. “Kinda rude and disrespectful to do that to somebody’s romantic dinner don’t you think……Some guys will do anything for attention. You guys should have bought the couples dinner at least and apologized,” one follower commented.

“Hope he paid for their meal!” another user agreed. “I doubt you’d make the same dare these days. I find it interesting he would go to such great lengths, possibly embarrassing himself, to impress/please you,” a third follower noted.

Another fan shared, “I love the Odeon. I know exactly where you were sitting. My history there goes back 36 years. I’ve seen some things, but nothing quite like that. I’m not sure it would make me fall in love, but I had very different attitudes about love and romance 36 years ago than I do today, so I get it.”

Another follower commented, “Back in the day that may have passed, but today it wouldn’t. And perhaps that’s the point of your story? I hope that wouldn’t have the same effect on you today. Back then was different and that’s ok. I loved Ric's music. I listened to it on my walkman all the time.”

Other fans seemed more interested in the menu. “The Odeon in 1984! Curious about the menu then versus now. Did they still serve Pimm’s cup? Forest mushrooms?” one fan asked. Paulina simply replied, “Nope!”

Those interested in learning more about their relationship can check out highlights from her recent collection of essays, "No Filter," by clicking here.