Sophia Michaels
It’s only been six months since Olivia Newton-John died at the age of 73 following a decades-long battle with breast cancer. In their first on-screen interview since her death, the actress’ daughter Chloe Lattanzi and her husband John Easterling recalled the details of their final months together.
“The last word she could say to me was ‘My sunshine,’” Lattanzi told Today. “And right before she lost her ability to speak, she was making jokes.”
Newton-John publicly shared her journey through breast cancer treatment for more than three decades. During the interview, Easterling said that even in the face of a less-than-positive prognosis, his wife remained optimistic. “She was very aware and I mean, it’s a long journey,” he explained. “But she had the willpower, even in her most difficult times, to really bring in the light and to bring in the love. She was who she was all the way through.”
The actress died at her ranch in Southern California on Aug. 8, 2022. Later this month, Newton-John will be honored with an official state memorial service in her childhood home of Melbourne, Australia. “I love my mom more than anything and she’s my mama, you know, she’s not Olivia Newton-John to me,” Lattanzi shared. “But I’m so glad that she was Olivia Newton-John for so many people.”
Beloved for both her contributions to music and film, Newton-John was remembered much differently by the public than by her family. “A guy I was flying with said, ‘You know, John, when you’re lucky enough to have found your true soul mate, and you share a heart, when one passes, the other has the obligation to live life for both,’” Easterling recalled. “And that was very empowering and very powerful for me, and, you know, and gave a way forward.”
Now, when he finds himself missing his wife of 15 years – particularly, he says, late at night and early in the morning – he calls out to her. “I’ll just be walking around the house, or throwing the ball for the dogs and just speak to her out loud,” he shared.
Months before her death, Newton-John stepped into the studio with Dolly Parton to record a duet of “Jolene.” One of her last offerings, the collaboration echoes the final sentiments Easterling shared at the close of the interview. “You’re left with just the message is love,” he said. “And just to focus on the gratitude, whatever in life you have to be grateful for – your friends, or your family, or for the way you feel, or the beauty of the sunshine – and just be grateful and express love to the people that you love.”
