Ric Ocasek’s oldest son Chris Otcasek has called his late father a ‘narcissist’ who was ‘never there,’ saying he didn’t hear from the rocker for most of his childhood until his band The Cars shot to fame.
The 56-year-old video game lead artist, who uses the original spelling of the family name, publicly accused his father of being a ‘deadbeat dad’ and notably absent from his life long before his death.
‘My father, in essence, died the day I was born,’ Chris told Page Six. ‘He was never present, he was never there. Even when he was, he was never there and that’s the abandonment that I’m referring to.’
Candid: Ric Ocasek’s oldest son Chris Otcasek (pictured in 2014) accused his late father of being a ‘narcissist’ who was ‘never there’ when he was growing up
Going public: On the one-year anniversary of his death, Chris shared a photo of himself and his brother Adam with their father, writing: ‘You don’t exist. We didn’t either’
Ric died of natural causes in the Manhattan townhouse he shared with his estranged wife Paulina Porizkova on September 15, 2019, at age 75, leaving behind six sons — two from each of his three marriages.
On the one-year anniversary of his death, Chris shared a photo of himself and his brother Adam with their father, writing: ‘You don’t exist. We didn’t either.’
He ended the post with a number of hashtags, including #myfatherdiedtwice, #deserted, and #deadbeatdad.
Chris told Page Six that his father was absent for most of his childhood and didn’t start reaching out until The Cars started to hit it big.
‘There may have been a touch of guilt, but I also think he wanted to say he was becoming famous and I think that gets into one of the more universal things in that he was just simply a narcissist,’ he explained, admitting he felt their relationship was ‘shallow.’
‘Hall of shame’: Chris ended the post with a number of hashtags, including #myfatherdiedtwice, #deserted, and #deadbeatdad
They would only see each other about once a year, he said, but they did call each other on the phone to keep in touch. Chris admitted it was difficult to see his father’s band on MTV as a teen, especially since he looked so much like him.
‘There were a lot of preconceived notions. In retrospect I wish I’d been a bit more protected from that,’ he said. ‘I didn’t want to be reminded every 15 seconds that I didn’t have my dad in my life. It was hard.’
Chris and his brother Adam, 50, were Ric’s sons from his first marriage to Constance Campbell. The rocker divorced her in 1971 when she was six months pregnant with Adam. Later that year, he married his second wife, Suzanne, and had sons Eron, 47, and Derek, 39.
Ric met his third wife, Czech-born model Paulina Porizkova, while filming the music video for The Cars’ song Drive in 1984. He was 40 at the time, while she was only 18.
In an Instagram post from September, Paulina alluded to her late husband cheating on his second wife with her, writing: ‘I now realize our love started with a betrayal.’
Guilt? Chris said his father was absent for most of his childhood and didn’t start reaching out until his band, The Cars, started to hit it big. The band is pictured in 1978
Looking back: Ric met his third wife, model Paulina Porizkova, while filming the music video for The Cars’ song Drive in 1984. He had a total of six sons, two from each of his three marriages
Ric married Paulina in 1989, a year after he divorced Suzanne. They had two sons together, Jonathan, 27, and Oliver, 22.
‘He didn’t have the sort of conscience to keep him grounded so he just kept going and always went for the next thing even if that meant abandoning or neglecting children. That was fine with him. I don’t think he thought much about it,’ Chris said.
For a year or two, Ric’s eldest son lived just a few blocks away from him, but Chris noted they only saw each other once or so. He made the decision to move to Los Angeles to get as far away from his father as he could.
After Ric’s death, it was revealed that Chris and his brother Adam were the only two of his children that were left out of his will. He also cut out his estranged wife Paulina, claiming she had ‘abandoned him.’
They were married for three decades before they quietly separated in 2017. However, they had not yet finalized their divorce when he passed away last year.
Family: Ric and Paulina, who had sons Jonathan and Oliver during their marriage, quietly separated in 2017, but they had not yet finalized their divorce when he passed away
Hard to handle: Ric cut Paulina out of his will, saying she ‘abandoned’ him. Chris and Adam were the only two out of his six sons who were left without provisions
‘I have made no provision for my wife Paulina Porizkova (‘Paulina’) as we are in the process of divorcing,’ the iconic singer said in his will, according to PageSix.
The Sports Illustrated star opened up about the betrayal on Instagram last week, saying she feels ‘an equal amount of heartbreak and rage’ while grieving him.
Paulina admitted that she blames herself for trusting Ric, saying she was ‘clearly delusional.’
The couple was separated and going through a divorce when he died, but because they were not legally divorced, Paulina, as his widow, may be entitled under New York law to an ‘elective share’ of his estate.
Ric specifically addressed the rule in his will, stating: ‘Even if I should die before our divorce is final… Paulina is not entitled to any elective share… because she has abandoned me.
However, unless it can be proven in court that she did abandon him, she will likely be entitled to a one-third share of the musician’s assets, which are listed as $5 million in ‘copyrights,’ $100,000 in ‘tangible personal property,’ and $15,000 in cash.
Paulina has been candid about her grief since her estranged husband’s passing, admitting that she feels ‘an equal amount of heartbreak and rage’ while grieving him.
Over the past few weeks, she has been speaking about her struggles with depression and anxiety on Instagram since she moved out of the Manhattan townhouse she shared with her Ric for three decades.