Paulina Porizkova Gets Candid About How She Learned To Forgive

Model Paulina Porizkova is getting candid about forgiveness as she reflects on the passing of her late husband, Ric Ocasek.

The Cars frontman and the Czech-born model were married from 1989 until his sudden death following surgery in 2019. The “Anna” actress, who shared two sons with the musician, was shocked to learn that she was cut out of his will before he passed.

Although she later reached a settlement with his estate, the incident led her to question a lot of things about their relationship, and, as she writes in her latest Instagram post, about the power of forgiveness.

On Thursday morning, the author of “No Filter: The Good, The Bad, and The Beautiful” took to Instagram to pen a touching post about forgiveness. “I have now often been asked how I forgave,” she began. “How come I’m not bitter about the things that happened. How did I manage to move on?”

“Almost four years ago, my husband died. He disinherited me in his will after 30 years of marriage, while I was nursing him back to health,” she explained. “Every day we would chastely kiss goodnight and retire to separate bedrooms, as we had for three years. We were separated and were going to start divorce proceedings as soon as he got back to health.”

“I had fallen in love with someone else, who left me while I was still drowning in grief for my husband, because(in his own words) he didn’t have the fortitude to stay with me. Oh, and Covid was raging. All this is nearly three years ago,” she revealed. “So, how did I manage to stand back up? It was a question of survival.”

“I was left bleeding on a battlefield. At first, I could only ball myself into a tender little ball of pain and blame. I could armor up against the world so no one could hurt me again. But that would also mean I’d stew in my own little carapace,” she admitted. “I’d be forever alone with my pain. I’d be a victim of my circumstances and my own inability to get out.”

“Or I could fight. Cast off my broken armor, stand up and fight armed only with my knowledge and the courage to be knocked down over and over. We will all face adversity at some point in our lives.

We cannot chose or escape it. The only thing we CAN choose is how we face it,” she concluded. “You can be a victim - or a warrior.”

Paulina’s words really resonated with her followers. Widowed mom Amy Gabrielle commented, “There is a time to retreat and lick our wounds, but ultimately, we can only control our thoughts, our feelings, and our actions.”

“We have the ability to reframe painful circumstances as opportunities for growth and evolution. Our thoughts guide our actions, uplift our emotions and change our new realities, even those we never would have chosen for ourselves,” she continued. “I see this as a growth mindset, something available to everyone through a variety of therapeutic modalities. Cognitive behavioral therapy was amazing for me, even before my husband was diagnosed with, and died from, cancer.”

“Forgiveness is a tough pill to swallow sometimes. It often takes quite a long time to swallow especially the older we get but sometimes quicker as our wisdom kicks in. I know for me there are a few things in my younger days that it was hard to get over. Letting go of things sometimes sets the soul free,” another follower shared.

“I’m just trying to understand because I have followed you for a while and I think you are amazing …you say that he cut you out of his will but he left the money to his sons and you are their mother and it looks like you are worth $10 million. Why not just privately grieve and then rise from the ashes like a Phoenix? It looks like a lot of your self-worth is based on looks and posing and modeling. Maybe take some time and step back out of the spotlight and enjoy this new relationship privately,” another user commented.

Paulina did not respond to the comment, but many fans did. “Everyone’s journey is different. I’m sure many find it helpful to hear how others have weathered such diversity, particularly someone as well-known as Paulina,” another follower replied. “I’ve been with her all the way and it’s been fascinating to see as she has quite literally risen. Super grateful she has shared it all and given hope and inspiration to many of us.”

More fans continued to thank her for being a warrior with another follower adding, “You've been very graceful in your candor. Thanks for being real.”