Photographed at her stunning new spa
By Rosalind Powell
If there’s one characteristic that defines Olivia Newton-John it’s resilience. Since she first burst onto the pop scene as a teenager in the 1960s, the Australian singer, who found worldwide fame as Sandy in the film musical Grease, has sustained a successful career throughout four decades.
But along with her professional triumphs there have been a series of personal traumas with which she has coped with formidable strength. Fourteen years ago she famously won her fight against breast cancer and she has since campaigned tirelessly to help improve the lives of fellow sufferers Shortly afterwards, her marriage to Matt Lattanzi, the father of her 20-year-old daughter Chloe, collapsed. Then, last year, her personal life hit the headlines once more when her partner of nine years, Patrick McDermott, went missing after a fishing trip in California.
But self-pity isn’t really her style. “I’m not bitter,” she says. “I believe I’ve had an incredible life and I’m very blessed to have experienced all the things I have. Like everyone else, I’ve had my problems, and that’s normal.”
She’s also learnt, over the years, how best to deal with the stress in her life. Which is why the idea of opening a retreat in rural New South Wales was so appealing. Not that she had planned to embark on a new business venture. Gaia Retreat and Spa was set up by Olivia and a small group of friends almost two years ago, after she stumbled across the property by accident. Her mother Irene had just died and a week after the funeral Olivia was driving to her farm in Byron Bay with her friend Gregg Cave. A former actor he met Olivia when he moved to Melbourne to work on the 1980s series Carson’s Law - he was looking for some land to buy in the area. Along the way they came across a semi-derelict former retreat that was up for sale. Before she knew it, they had put in an offer, spoken to three other friends who decided to join them and Gaia was created. Olivia firmly believes her mother guided her there. “You might think I’m nuts but she was part of it,” she laughs. “She loved the area and she loved Gregg, and would probably want him near me.”
Surrounded by rolling hills, vineyards and orchards, with a view of the mountains to one side and the ocean on the other, Gaia is, says Olivia “a piece of heaven”. “We call it barefoot Armani,” she adds. “It’s very simple, not over-the-top glamorous, with a beautiful tranquillity. It’s pretty remote there are no TVs or phones - and the sound of the bird life in the morning is pretty extraordinary.”
Offering a range of therapies and treatments including yoga, Reiki, steam baths and facials, the retreat is a highly personal venture for her. “So many of us lead such high-powered lives, and we don’t take time for ourselves. If you go for three days, it can feel like a month because it’s all about you.”
Olivia first became interested in alternative treatments in 1992 when she endured a mastectomy after discovering a malignant lump in her breast. Taking a holistic approach to her treatment, she combined chemotherapy with acupuncture, massage, homeopathic medicine and positive thinking. “I realise there are people who have thought positively and haven’t done so well, so I’m not so naive as to think that’s all there is,” she concedes. “But I know it’s very important for your healing process to believe you can be well.” Thinking positively, she says, is part of her nature. “But there are things that bring you down and I’ve had my share of those,” she adds quietly. “You’ve got to try and keep your belief system going, even when it’s shaken.”
It was severely put to the test last June when cameraman Patrick set out to sea from San Pedro port in Los Angeles with 22 other passengers on a fishing trip and vanished overnight. A small bag containing his passport, wallet, an organiser and ~ loose coins was found in his bunk on board. He has not been seen since and is being investigated as a missing person by the US Coast Guard.
At the time, Olivia released a public statement in which she said: “I hope my treasured friend is safe and well and I am grateful to the officials who are working so hard to find Patrick, whom I love very much.” In private, her torment was such that she considered giving up the one thing that had always provided her with a sense of stability her singing. One would assume from its title, Strong Than Before, that her latest album had been written after the devastating event, but she had recorded it before. “It’s almost as if I’d written it for myself,” she shrugs.
With a tour booked for late last year and feeling she had lost her voice, Olivia was faced with a tough decision. “I was very low and didn’t know if I could sing. I had to tell my manager whether I was going to do the tour or not. Every morning, before I get out of bed, I ask myself, ‘What do I need to know?’ This time I thought, ‘Can I do this?’ A little voice said, ‘Yes,’ so I thought, ‘I’m going to build on that.’ “It was the best thing I did because I think saying yes to life is what makes it work. Saying no to life is not the way to go. So I called him and said, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to do this, but I’m going to.’”
Taking her Irish setter Jack for support, Olivia hit the road. “I only sang positive songs and I got so much back from the audience. It was the best thing I did, to go back and sing, because that’s me, that’s how I express myself.”
Singing has also helped her move on, although the pain is still raw. “I don’t want to go into it in any depth but we all have our own ways of coping,” she says. “I think this will always be painful for me, and I’ll always miss him. I don’t know anything, and that makes it harder, of course.” With that, the subject is closed. But it’s clear that she firmly subscribes to the belief that strength can be gained from hardship or trauma. “I think sometimes that’s why they happen,” she agrees. “Nobody escapes in life from something - I guess you can make a decision that either you become bitter from it, or you grow from it, and I think it’s all about growing from it and experiencing life because it’s a gift and we have to enjoy it,”
One person who has been a constant source of support has been her daughter. “She’s been wonderful,” says Olivia of Chloe, who has also become a singer. “I try and guide her but she’s 20 now and is going to make her own decisions. I look out for her as best I can, but it’s her journey and I think she’s going to thrive.”
Along with plans to record a new album in Canada later this month, Olivia is continuing her work with the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre appeal, which aims to raise 20 million pounds to build a wellness centre for cancer patients at the Austin Health hospital in Melbourne. “I don’t feel it’s a duty, I just feel very lucky to have survived and want to inspire others by saying, ‘Look, I was there,’” she explains. “I remember when I’d just finished my treatment 14 years ago and was in a restaurant in Melbourne having lunch with my mum. I met a woman in the bathroom who said to me, ‘I had cancer 20 years ago and I’m fine.’ That moment was huge for me because there she was, 20 years later, and she was fine. She inspired me, so if I can do the same thing for another woman and say, ‘Look, here I am 14 years later you can do it too.’ That’s really important.”
One person to have benefited from her advice is Kylie Minogue, currently in remission from breast cancer. “We’ve talked,” admits Olivia cautiously, anxious to protect their privacy. “She’s great. I think it’s wonderful she’s in remission but I’m not surprised at all - I knew she would be fine. I don’t know why I just did. Instinct? But she’s a strong girl and I knew she was in strong hands and had a great attitude, too.
While it’s difficult to let go of events from her own recent past, Olivia is looking to the future. Along with fundraising and getting back in the studio, she plans to go on tour again later this year. She’s also hoping to spend more time at her farm near Byron Bay. “I’ve lived more of my life in the States than anywhere but I always feel a great affinity with Australia. When I go there I really feel I am home.”
And with her farm just a 20-minute drive from Gaia, she can easily indulge in her other passion. “I get to switch off and spend time with my friends. Gregg and I joke about the fact that in 20 years’ time, if it doesn’t do well, we’ll turn it into a retirement home,” she laughs. “I think it’s a wonderful idea, to be with my friends when I’m doddering around.”