Paulina Porizkova Speaks Out One Day After Former Husband Ric Ocasek's Death

Ric Ocasek and Paulina Porizkova announced their split in May 2018 after 28 years of marriage

By Karen Mizoguchi
Published on September 16, 2019 12:23PM EDT

Paulina Porizkova is mourning the loss of her former husband Ric Ocasek.

One day after news of his death, the supermodel, 54, spoke out on Instagram Monday and shared a photo of fans leaving flowers outside the Manhattan home they had shared.

“Thank you,” wrote Porizkova, who was Ocasek’s third and final wife.

The Cars frontman was found dead in his New York City residence on Sunday, according to Entertainment Weekly. He was 75.

Porizkova said she was the one who found him unconscious and unresponsive. “Ric was at home recuperating very well after surgery. Our two sons, Jonathan and Oliver, and I were making sure he was comfortable, ordering food and watching TV together,” the mom of two said in a separate post on Monday.

“I found him still asleep when bringing him his Sunday morning coffee. I touched his cheek to rouse him. It was then I realized that during the night he had peacefully passed on,” she said.

“We appreciate the great outpouring of love. We, his family and friends, are completely and utterly devastated by his untimely and unexpected death and would appreciate the privacy to mourn in private,” Porizkova concluded.

The Cars Frontman Ric Ocasek’s Cause of Death Revealed to Be Cardiovascular Disease

Ocasek and Porizkova, who first met while filming the music video for The Cars’ song “Drive” in 1984, announced their split in May 2018 after 28 years of marriage. They share two adult sons together, Jonathan and Oliver. (Ocasek also has four kids, Christopher, Adam, Eron and Derek Otcasek, from previous relationships.)

Ric Ocasek, The Cars Frontman and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Dies at 75
Paulina Porzikova and Ric Ocasek
Taylor Hill/Getty

“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.”

Porizkova added, “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.”

However, they were not legally divorced prior to his death.