Paulina Porizkova's Beyond The Edge stint has come to an end, and it is time to celebrate her inspiring journey on the show. Paulina is a supermodel who rose to fame in the United States when she appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in 1984 at age 18. From 1988 to 1995, she was the face of Estée Lauder. Paulina was on the judging panel of America's Next Top Model for cycles 10-12 in 2008-2010.
On Beyond The Edge, Paulina competed against nine celebrities in challenges called "adventures" in the jungles of Panama, to raise money for charities of their choice. The contestants were Paulina, Lauren Alaina, Craig Morgan, Ray Lewis, Mike Singletary, Colton Underwood, Eboni K. Williams, Jodie Sweetin, and Metta World Peace. They were pushed to their physical, mental, and emotional limits in order to try and become the two top earners, who could compete to win the $100,000 grand prize. Unlike other reality competition shows, there are no eliminations. Instead, the celebrities decide when they have reached their breaking points, and they ring a bell to signal that they are ready to leave the competition and go home.
Paulina, who was 56-years-old at the time of filming, joined Beyond The Edge because she feels that society tells people that older women are "irrelevant," so she wanted to prove that an older woman can compete and win. She competed for the Women's Rights Project, which is a part of the ACLU Foundation. Paulina's journey was so inspiring for many reasons.
Paulina Was A Role Model For Older Women
Throughout her time on Beyond The Edge, Paulina wanted to be a role model for older women. During adventure 1, she said, "I’m known for making a career off the way I look . . . I’m trying to prove that [as] a 56-year-old woman, you can be out here kicking some ass." Paulina battled through sleeping in three inches of cold water during a torrential rainstorm and slogging through muddy bogs despite feeling incredible pain. Beyond The Edge is a refreshing show because it casts older people as contestants.
Paulina not only competed on Beyond The Edge to change the image of older women, but to inspire girls and women of all ages. She said, "The charity I’m playing for is a part of the ACLU that’s called the Women’s Rights Project. And as a grandma of three beautiful girls, I want to keep fighting for women’s rights and for equality, true equality." Paulina's determination to succeed set a great example for everyone.
Paulina Fought Through Her Pain
Paulina battles arthritis in her hips, which causes her extreme pain. At the beginning of adventure 3 on Beyond The Edge, Paulina admitted that the previous night was brutal. She said that she is in fine shape, but she was thrilled when her team won blankets, pillows, and mattresses during a challenge. Those items helped her to be more comfortable than when she was sleeping on her bamboo bed. Paulina shared that she could handle "adversarial living" on Beyond The Edge, such as going without food, encountering snakes, frogs, and toads, being bitten by ants in her sleep, or having rain pour down on her. She also revealed that she had dealt with outdoor restrooms and a lack of hot water when she was a child. However, she admitted that the pain was getting to her, but she said that she was not going to give up because "I don’t want to give in to pain. I don’t want my pain to win."
Paulina described the pain in her hips as feeling like they were on fire. She said, "This is the most pain I have ever been in in my life. I mean, you know, childbirth, natural childbirth is not fun, but you know, that’s a day. This is a lot longer." She confessed that the pain was "absolutely killing" her. She questioned if it was worth it to stay on Beyond The Edge. However, Paulina also said that she did not join the show to prove her athleticism. Instead, she was "trying to prove that a 56-year-old woman can still stay in a game this hard, but it’s been so much harder than I thought that it would be. I am in a lot of pain, quite honestly."
Despite major discomfort, she fought hard for her teams, saying, "If you select me, I’m gonna kill myself for you. That’s the way I’m made. I will do everything in my power that I can do to support my team." Paulina's teammates supported her as well, with Colton literally carrying her over his shoulder through the Beyond The Edge challenges and Jodie allowing her to lean on her physically when her pain became too intense.
Paulina knew that it was time to go when her left leg began to occasionally seize up and go into an incredibly painful spasm that would stop her cold and prevent her from moving. She knew that this could mean the difference between winning and losing, and she did not want to hurt her team members. Although it caused Paulina great emotional pain in addition to her physical pain, she made the decision to leave Beyond The Edge.
Paulina Faced Her Insecurities
During the first Beyond The Edge adventure, Paulina volunteered to be a team captain. She later admitted that it was because she was afraid that she would be picked last for a team, something with which she had struggled throughout her childhood, and then again on Beyond The Edge. She acknowledged that she had survived much worse than being picked last, but it still made her a little bit sad and hurt her feelings. She said that she knew that what she had to do next was show people that she was not just courageous emotionally, but that she was also courageous physically.
Paulina shared, "It brings me right back to seventh, eighth, ninth grade. When it came to picking me for teams in school, not only was I last to be picked, I would be the one person in the middle where the teams would argue about who had her last, so we wouldn’t have to take her. I mean, talk about feeling unwanted. And obviously, yes, I understand, I then became a supermodel and lived an enchanted life. That doesn’t mean that those scars go away." Instead of letting this defeat her on Beyond The Edge, Paulina used it to fuel the fire that lit her competitive spirit.
Paulina Became Her Own North Star
Paulina opened up about her late husband, Ric Ocasek, who was the lead singer of the Cars. He passed away two years ago. She said that she met him when she was 19 and was married to him for 30 years, but knew him for 35. Paulina shared, "He was my North Star." She said that she oriented her world to where he was. She told Jodie, "To be honest, I’m here because I’m trying to find who I am. Who I am, not as a couple, who I am . . . Just as me, P." Jodie told her that she is a beautiful leader and such a light and a spirit to the group. She said to Paulina, "And maybe that's who you're finding."
Paulina found inner and outer strength when she completed Beyond The Edge challenges, such as rappelling down a mountain. She said that it terrified her, but remarked, "courage is not not being afraid, it’s being really afraid and doing it anyway." After Paulina received a video message from her son, she said that her boys are the most important things in her life, and that she didn't want to let them down. However, the pain was getting the best of her. On her last night, Paulina hoped for a miracle in the morning, but the pain was so bad that she knew that it was time for her to go. As she rang the bell, her fellow Beyond The Edge contestants looked on. She told them that they had her back for a week straight and that she had come there and trusted her life to complete strangers. Paulina said, "you guys gave me a key. And I’m ready to discover what else is out there."
Paulina concluded her time on Beyond The Edge knowing that she could be her own North Star. As she left the show, she shared, "The person that came in here was a woman that was looking for her spot in the world. And what I have gotten from all of this is I have full confidence in myself of who I am and what I’m able to do. I don’t need somebody else to be my North Star anymore. I can be that for myself." This was such a moving message after all that Paulina has been through.
Paulina was a fierce competitor on Beyond The Edge, completing seven adventures, many of them while she was in great pain. She won $34,000 for the Women's Rights Project, but gained so much more. She is a strong role model for women of all ages, and has proven that age is only a number. As Paulina attempts to navigate the world without her beloved husband, she has gained an inner confidence and strength. Paulina had a truly inspiring journey.
Beyond The Edge airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EDT on CBS.