Paulina Porizkova has revealed that she was separated from her parents for years after the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, after some 100,000 people fled Ukraine after Russiathe invasion.
The 56-year-old model was born in 1965 near Prostejov, Czechoslovakia, in the family of Anna Porizkova and Jiri Porizka (the male version of Porizkova). Her anti-Soviet dissident parents were forced to flee to Lund, Swedenthree years later to escape the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion.
Porizkova, who is left in the care of her maternal grandmother, explained frankly Instagram post that they were the “lucky ones”.
“In 1968, the former Soviet Union invaded my home country. My parents escaped on a motorcycle, leaving my three-year-old behind – knowing they might not make it out alive. They were lucky, “she wrote on Friday.
Paulina Porizkova, 56, revealed about her parents who fled Czechoslovakia when she was three years old to escape the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion.
The model (pictured with her family) was left in the care of her maternal grandmother after her anti-Soviet dissident parents Anna Porizkova and Jiri Porizka fled to Sweden without her.
The Czechoslovak communist authorities forbade her parents to return her. It took six years – and an unsuccessful rescue attempt by her mother – to reunite with her family.
“I didn’t see my parents again until my mother came back three years later trying to kidnap me – the only way to get me back,” she recalls. “She was captured and imprisoned. She was also seven months pregnant with my brother.
“She was amnestied and placed under house arrest for the next three years until we were expelled from our homeland and told never to return,” she continued.
“It was largely thanks to the people of Sweden who [campaigned] to let us out. I was nine when we left Czechoslovakia for Sweden. I hadn’t seen my father in six years.
– We were the lucky ones.
Porizkiva did not see her mother again until she returned to her homeland and tried to abduct her. Anna, who was pregnant with Porizkova’s brother, was caught and thrown in jail
Anna was placed under house arrest for three years before her family reunited in Sweden
Shortly after she moved to Sweden and acquired Swedish citizenship, her father left the family and they became estranged.
Shortly after she moved to Sweden and acquired Swedish citizenship, her father left the family and they became estranged.
The supermodel, who later became famous after embellishing the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1984, when she was just 19, remained close to her mother, Anna, a former midwife.
In the publication, Porizkova included an old black-and-white photo of herself with her parents and her younger brother Kim, taken when she was a child, and an editorial of photos in a magazine in which she appeared with her mother.
Its story reflects the stories of thousands of other families who were torn apart after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, calling it a “special military operation.”
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree on general mobilization after Russia attacked major cities, including the capital Kiev, on Thursday.
The supermodel has remained close with his mother Anna, a former midwife. The mother and daughter are depicted posing together in an editorial image
Porizkova (pictured in Prague in 2014) said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday “feels very personal to me and my family”
Porizkova (pictured with her mother in 2014) was candid about how she struggles with feelings of abandonment and rejection after her parents left her as a child.
All Ukrainians who can bear arms are called to defend their homeland.
The State Border Service of Ukraine announced that men aged 18 to 60 are prohibited from leaving the country. The agency said the measure was aimed at “ensuring Ukraine’s defense and organizing timely mobilization”.
Soldiers and reservists from the country are also being called up, according to the decree, which is in force for 90 days.
The UN refugee agency says 100,000 people have been forced to flee their homes so far, with thousands fleeing the country.
“How many people, how many families will suffer now because of one man’s thirst for power?” Porizkova asked. “It simply came to my notice then. We are with Ukraine.
She ended the post with the hashtags #istandwithukraine, #standwithukraine and # f ** kputin. ‘
Poryzkova attends her godfather Sam’s wedding in Israel on Tuesday with her sons Oliver (far left) and Jonathan (far right)
Porizkova says she has “very conflicting feelings” about spending time with her family in Israel while Russia invades Ukraine
Porizkova was candid about how the trauma of being abandoned by her parents has affected her over the years.
IN New York Times profile, which was published last year, she said she spent years in therapy working through feelings of abandonment and rejection by her parents.
“Once I had children, I always thought, ‘I can’t believe they left me.’ But times were different, things were different, “said the mother, who has two sons – Jonathan, 28, and Oliver, 23 – with her late husband, Rick Okasek.
Porizkova’s mother, who also lives in New York, told The Times she regretted abandoning her daughter when she fled Czechoslovakia five decades ago.
“Sometimes you do certain things to survive and you don’t think, you just do it spontaneously, you do what you have to do,” she said.
“If I could do things differently, I would,” she added. “But you can’t turn back time.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, calling it a “special military operation.”
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree on general mobilization after Russia invaded major cities, including the capital Kiev.
The UN refugee agency says 100,000 people have been forced to flee their homes so far, with thousands leaving the country.
Porizkova shared her latest Instagram post from Israel after traveling to the Middle East with her sons to attend her godfather Sam’s wedding on Tuesday.
The cover star posted a family photo from the celebration the next day, writing: ’02 .22.2022. I will always remember – because that was the reason we all came to Israel for the wedding of my godfather Sam.
“What a beautiful, meaningful and great event,” she added. “Here’s part of my family, Oliver, godmother Josephine, Erin and Jonathan, all ready to make up!”
On Thursday, she shared a photo of herself walking on the beach, explaining that she has mixed emotions from enjoying her escape.
“Take a quick walk on the beach to get some air and sun,” she wrote below the image. “Many conflicting feelings today – the joy of being here with my friends and family for the most wonderful wedding and the celebration of love, I miss the boys who left last night and I am worried about the world situation today.”