Paulina Porizkova Asked Friends to Buy Her Groceries After Ex Ric Ocasek Died: 'We Had No Cash'
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Paulina Porizkova is ready to talk about her nerve-wracking financial situation following the sudden death of her estranged late husband Ric Ocasek.
During an appearance on Facebook Watch's Red Table Talk on Wednesday, hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith, her daughter Willow and her mom Adrienne Banfield-Norris, the author and supermodel, 57, opened up about the difficult days following Ocasek's death.
"So, you write in your book about being broke after Ric died," Pinkett prompted.
"I was very specifically broke. I just want to set that right so that people don't accuse me of lying," the former Sports Illustrated cover star clarified.
She continued: "I was a woman with assets. I had two mortgaged houses and I had a pension plan that I can access in 10 years and zero cash, and no way to pay for anything. So I was in a really, really peculiar position of being a woman with assets and no money."
Porizkova noted that the pandemic made things worse because "property values in New York had just fallen off the cliff," but she still had to sell her house "immediately" because she couldn't afford it.
"Right you had no liquid," Pinkett commented, Porizkova confirming, "I was asking my friends to buy our groceries for a little while."
RELATED: Paulina Porizkova Felt 'Incredibly Hurt' After Being Left Out of Late Husband Ric Ocasek's Will
Shortly after Ocasek's unexpected passing — The Cars frontman died at the age of 75 from natural causes in his New York City home in September 2019 — Porizkova discovered that she was left out of his will.
"Two, three days after my husband died, choosing out the clothing for the coffin was really rough," she shared on Red Table Talk, noting the newfound sadness she felt when looking at his shoes.
That's when she uncovered Ocasek's will in his closet. "So while doing that I open an envelope that says that 'This is the will and a testament' and his writing that says 'I will not provide for my wife because she abandoned me.' I wasn't in no state to process it, honestly."
She initially believed the discovery to be a "lie" and "mistake."
In May 2018, Porizkova and Ocasek announced they had split after 28 years of marriage and while they were separated for several years, they were not legally divorced and were still living together. They share two sons Jonathan, 29, and Oliver, 24.
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Jordan Fisher Paulina Porizkova
RELATED: Paulina Porizkova Regrets Not Signing Prenup with Late Ex-Husband Ric Ocasek: 'I Was Stupid'
In 2020, during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, the mom of two remembered how her exclusion from his will had impacted her mourning. "I would love to be able to be sad and miss him. And not also feel this incredible hurt and betrayal."
One year later – and two years following the musician's passing – Porizkova also admitted that she regrets not signing a prenup with Ocasek, stating that her marriage "eclipsed any financial thinking."
However, in October 2021 she settled with his estate. Although she declined to reveal how much money she will be getting, she told Los Angeles Magazine's podcast The Originals that she's "gonna be fine."
A new episode of Red Table Talk will stream Wednesday, November 16 at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET on Facebook Watch.
