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Paulina Porizkova opens up about 'the best compliment' she's gotten in years'

Paulina Porizkova has been beautifully vulnerable on Instagram lately, sharing untouched photos, opening up about heartache and using her own experiences to empower others.

Apparently, it was all worth it when the model, 56, had a meaningful encounter with a fan.

"I was recently in a restaurant, and as I came back from the ladies room to go back to my table, a young woman at the bar stopped me," Porizkova shared on Instagram on Tuesday.

"'Are you- are you…' she was fumbling around for a name," she continued. "I wanted to to get back to my table, so I decided to make it easy on her. I smiled and nodded 'Yes, I am' as I tried to walk past. And then she said it. 'YOU'RE THE LADY WHO CRIES ON INSTAGRAM!' This woman was much too young to know me as a model. She knows me as the lady who cries on Instagram."

The conversation then took an interesting turn.

"Then the young woman continued to thank me! She thanked me for being honest and sharing painful stuff, because it freed her to do the same," Porizkova explained. "It released her shame of feeling guilty for having a range of emotions, and for not having to pretend. I think it was the best compliment I have gotten in years."

Porizkova's post about the conversation prompted a number of responses from commenters.

"I guess I'm lucky because I'm 50 and I remember you as a super hot supermodel back in the day," one fan wrote. "Now I get to know you as the crying lady on Instagram but you're beautiful and nothing wrong with showing vulnerability and sharing information with your millions of fans and I think you're awesome."

"I have said it before Ms. Porizkova and I will say it again," another wrote. "You are beautiful within and beautiful without. Keep doing your beautiful thing. Know your face only deserves to be touched with love...and you are enough."

"Thank goodness for your voice," an admirer wrote. "You’ve made a difference in my life and in many, many others’ I am certain."

Porizkova took time to respond to some compliments, writing to a commenter who was questioning their confidence to "work on losing that shame and do whatever YOU must for your own confidence and comfort."

Porizkova has been vocal about her zest for life, aging and changing perspectives.

In a "barely retouched" cover for Los Angeles magazine's September issue, she dared people who harbor issues with older women celebrating their bodies to hit the "unfollow button."

"We are doing much better in celebrating beauty that comes in many different sizes and colors, but age is still something to be conquered," she wrote of the experience.

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