Olivia Newton-John's Husband Of 14 Years Left Us In Tears

Aug 31, 2022 by apost team

Beloved actress and hugely popular singer Olivia Newton-John passed away on Aug. 8, 2022, at the age of 73, leaving her family, friends and many fans devastated. She left behind a daughter, a sister and brother, nieces and nephews and the “love of her life,” husband, John Easterling. The two shared a bond like no other and became partners in life, love and activism.

Newton-John was born on Sept. 26, 1948, in England, before moving with her family to Australia when she was still very young. She began her career in the entertainment industry as a singer in the early 1970s, releasing records that did well enough to earn some of her singles a place near the top of the music charts but not quite enough to make her a household name. 

Superstardom would come when she was cast in the 1978 musical “Grease” opposite John Travolta. Newton-John’s portrayal of an innocent Australian student pining for Travolta’s Danny Zuko was a hit, breaking records at the time it was released and securing critical and commercial success. This success was due in part to the film’s soundtrack, which included a fair few numbers with Newton-John, including “Hopelessly Devoted To You,” “Summer Nights” and “You’re The One That I Want.” 

Then would come “Physical.” The album, along with the title track of the same name, would blow up in 1981 due in part to the provocative lyrics and music video that accompanied the single. Despite the change in her clean-cut image, the public still adored her, and she went on to record more albums with varying degrees of success.

While her romantic life suffered swings and misses, much like her career, she hit the love jackpot with her second husband, Easterling.

Olivia Newton-John became a household name with her famous and iconic role in the 1978 movie "Grease ."The star was originally born in England but moved to Australia at the age of 6, where her career started at the age of 14. Around this time, Newton-John formed a short-lived all girl-group called Sol Four with three of her classmates. However, they didn’t get very far as they typically only performed at the local coffee shop.

However, Newton-John clearly had talent and later became a regular on a variety of local Australian TV shows, such as “The Happy Show.” The up-and-coming performer also appeared on “The Go!! Show,” meeting singer Pat Carroll and music producer John Farrar.

In the mid-1960s, Newton-John began making progress with her career in the music industry. She recorded her very first single in 1966 while in the United Kingdom but grew homesick and wanted to go back to Australia. However, when Carroll moved to the UK, everything seemed to change, and Newton-John and Carroll joined forces to form a duo called Pat and Olivia. After the duo ended its run, Newton-John stayed in Britain to pursue a solo career until 1975.

During this time, Newton-John found early success with her first albums and singles. Although her work didn’t always reach the top of the charts, she still made a great name for herself as an up-and-coming star. Remarkably, the title track of her first solo album, “If Not for You,” reached No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart in the United States. Newton-John’s 1973 song, “Let Me Be There,” did well on the charts in the states and even earned the singer a Grammy Award.

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And after proving that she clearly had what it took to become a massive star, Newton-John landed the film that further catapulted her fame: “Grease.”

The actress and singer helped turn “Grease” into the beloved classic it is remembered as today – despite the fact that there was a good chance it might not have happened this way! 

It's at first hard to believe Newton-John wasn't that happy about accepting the offered role. Ahead of the airing of a Grease sing-along version, Entertainment Tonight featured the star in a video-call interview. During the interview, she revealed that she wasn't even sure she should accept the offer. Since many other actresses were also in the running at the time, there was a good chance Newton-John would never have made the cut.

However, John Travolta seemed to be very much in favor of Newton-John. He took to making flattering comments about his co-star-to-be and was even sent to talk Newton-John into going for the role.

"I was really quite hesitant to be in Grease, so they sent John Travolta to talk me into it. And how can you say no to those blue eyes?" the star said.

Luckily for us all, Newton-John was convinced to sign on, and her career took off. After her role as Sandy, Newton-John took on few acting roles, preferring instead to focus on her musical career. Her dedication paid off as she scored several top placements in charts around the world over the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Her personal life, however, was another story.

Newton-John's first serious relationship was with English guitarist, songwriter and singer Bruce Welch, band member of The Shadows. According to Marie Claire, the couple got engaged all the way back in 1968. The young couple's relationship was tumultuous, though, and in 1972, Newton-John finally called off the engagement and ended it. Welch was devastated over the loss of his fiancée.

Over the next years, Newton-John dated intermittently while pursuing acting and her musical career. Then 1979 came around, and Newton-John was filming "Xanadu," which was released a year later. The movie infamously flopped so horribly that it inspired the American publicist John J.B. Wilson to found the Golden Raspberry Awards – a parody award honoring the year's worst cinematic achievements. Despite its less than stellar success at the box office, Xanadu's musical track became a great success. 

More importantly, Newton-John met her later husband on the set of the film: then-19-year-old Matt Lattanzi. At the time, the dancer and aspiring actor was 11 years younger than Newton-John herself. She found herself attracted to him but did not approach him herself due to their age difference. Thankfully Lattanzi was also quite taken with her and gathered the courage to ask her out. 

Lattanzi later explained:

"It was easier for me. I didn't really have anything at stake except my vanity. She later told me that if I hadn't made the running, asked her out and so on, nothing would have happened – even though she wanted it to."

The couple got married in 1984 and had their only child, daughter Chloe Rose Lattanzi, in 1986.

Newton-John, Lattanzi and their daughter spent several happy years together as a family until their sudden split in 1995 and subsequent official divorce in 1996. They issued a joint statement that the divorce was amicable, and their daughter continued to spend time with both of them. Still, despite this, rumors of a possible affair of Lattanzi's persisted. In interviews at the time, Newton-John denied these rumors but would not explain further what had happened. As PEOPLE wrote:

"Beyond stressing that she and her actor ex remain friends and that Chloe sees her father often, Newton-John refuses to discuss the breakup. "I don't think that's anyone's business except ours," she says firmly. People who know the couple suggest that the wide gulf between her spiritual interests and his more earthy ones did them in." 

Divorce is usually hard on all family members, including the children. Following her parents' divorce, Chloe moved in with Newton-John and was mainly raised by her famous mother. In interviews at the time, Newton-John described her parenting as: 

"It's the same for all mothers, to try and give your daughters good self-esteem. You just do your best and cross your fingers."

Sadly, Chloe did not always feel so comfortable being Newton-John's daughter. Growing up with a famous mother brought a lot of media attention with it and certain expectations. It’s not hard to understand why Chloe felt so much societal pressure to look and act a particular way.

Thankfully Chloe and Newton-John had a wonderful relationship during Newton-John’s life. Although there were some hardships and complications along the way, it was evident that the mother-daughter pair had plenty of love, respect and adoration for one another. 

On top of that, Chloe has proven to be a talented force, just like her late mother. Chloe definitely took after her pop star mother in regard to her love of music and acting. The 36-year-old is following in Newton-John’s footsteps with a creative drive for acting and making music. It seems like talent runs through this family’s bloodline!

She released a song in 2015 titled "You Have to Believe," which was a duet with her mother. Chloe has also been flexing her acting muscles with roles in movies like "Dead 7" and "Sharknado 5: Global Swarming." 

In a rather interesting turn of events, Chloe has been featured in movies that have been referred to as subpar or just didn’t live up to expectations. Unfortunately, Chloe has not chanced upon her personal “Grease” yet, but you never know when the perfect role for her will be just around the corner.

While it’s clear that Newton-John’s legacy is being carried out by her own daughter, her message will always continue to live on through one of her loves, her second husband, Easterling.

After Newton-John and Lattanzi divorced, Newton-John met cameraman Patrick McDermott, and the two were coupled up for nine years. However, in June 2005, McDermott went missing while on a fishing trip off the coast of Los Angeles, and his body was never found. Rumor later spread that the cameraman had faked his death and moved to Mexico. Newton-John described the ordeal as “traumatic,” but that falling in love with Easterling helped her move on.

Newton-John and Easterling had been friends for years but only fell in love after a trip to the Amazon. They went public with their relationship in 2007. A year later, they were married on a Peru mountaintop in a secret Incan ceremony before returning to the U.S. for another secret beachfront ceremony in Florida on June 30, 2008. They then shocked friends and family with the big marriage reveal during a July 4th barbeque.

“My family was surprised,” Olivia told PEOPLE, “but my daughter knew – I told my daughter,” she said, adding the reason for all the secrecy was because “it was the one thing I could keep private. That’s how we wanted it because my life is so public.”

Eight years later, she was still gushing about her husband, saying: “He’s incredibly smart and compassionate. He says yes to everything, he says yes to life!” As for finding her soulmate in her later years, she added, “I’m very lucky I have a wonderful, beautiful husband who is just so loving and fantastic. I always tell my friends you’re never too old to find love. I found the love of my life at 59 going on 60! I’m grateful.”

At every public appearance, Newton-John and Easterling appeared very much in love. They were seen on the red carpet regularly with old friend Travolta as well as at charity events. For the lovebirds, the match was one of minds and heart, particularly as Easterling was a natural health businessman and Newton-John was struggling with her own health battles.

In 1992 at 42 years old, Newton-John was first diagnosed with breast cancer. After overcoming it, she discovered it had returned in 2013. In 2017, the cancer had progressed to stage four and spread to Newton-John’s bones.

Newton-John credited Easterling with helping her fight the disease, saying in 2019: 

“My husband hands me all these herbs every morning and makes me a green algae drink.” 

He also gave her medicinal cannabis that “he grows … and makes … into liquid for me. I take drops maybe four to five times a day.”

With a shared interest in more holistic medicine, the duo founded the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund in 2020, aimed at supporting research into plant medicine to treat cancer. This was in addition to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Center that opened in Melbourne, Australia, in 2008, for which she helped raise funds to build. 

Just days before her passing, Newton-John had posted a photo of the two of them in a sweet embrace on Instagram, captioned only “#flashbackfriday” followed by a heart emoji.

In announcing his wife’s death, Easterling described Newton-John as “a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years” before urging the public to donate to her cancer research cause, because he knew that’s what she would have wanted.

And just two days after Newton-John’s passing, Easterling posted a heartfelt tribute to his late wife. He wrote:

“Our love for each other transcends our understanding. Every day we expressed our gratitude for this love that could be so deep, so real, so natural. We never had to ‘work’ on it. We were in awe of this great mystery and accepted the experience of our love as past, present and forever.”

Easterling added, “Even now as her soul soars, the pain and holes in my heart are healed with the joy of her love and the light that shines forward.”

What do you think of Olivia Newton-John’s inspiring journey? How great is it that she was fully supported by the man she loved throughout it? Let us know, and pass this on to family and friends.