Olivia Sees Red
A recent trip to Russia to film sequences for Wild Life has allowed Olivia Newton-John to put her personal worries into a new perspective and revitalised her optimism. An openly moved Olivia says that despite the storms that have plagued her personal life during the past few years, the Russian trip has made her see just how blessed she is. “I have a lot of emotions when thinking about my experiences in Russia,” she says, her voice faltering. “I found the Russians to be people of incredible strength and spirit. I felt very much for the people because even though they have their freedom now, they don’t really know what to do with it. I think they feel a little lost. A lot of the people we met were really struggling because they hadn’t been paid for a few months. They are such a proud, alive and honorable people, and they are struggling against a lot of things.”
There is a pause, as Olivia tries to conceal her emotion. “Let’s just put it this way,” she says. “I now feel very fortunate for what I have and the fact that I’m lucky enough to live in America and Australia. “Everyone should visit Russia and you’ll soon realise how lucky you are.” Now based in the U.S., Olivia, who is estranged from husband Matt Lattanzi, is living the life of a single mum, sharing a close relationship with her daughter, Chloe, in their Malibu home. “I’m living in Malibu, but Australia is still home,” Olivia says. “I’m here for personal reasons, and my daughter is going to school here.”
Olivia won’t discuss the “personal reasons” or be drawn into answering questions about the future of her marriage. She cringes when told of an article that has her and Matt winning an award for the best celebrity divorce of 1995. “As we haven’t got a divorce, I don’t know how we can get an award,” she says. “Half the stuff they write about us is all done without talking to us. I don’t want to spend a whole lot of time defending it. I really don’t want to discuss my personal life If that’s alright.”
Olivia quickly points out that for all the doom and gloom stories circulating about her personal affairs, she is looking forward to a happy 1996. “I’m very optimistic about this year,” she says. “I think after what I’ve been through these past three years, every day is a blessing, and I’m grateful for It. I feel very fortunate to be alive and healthy, and to have a beautiful child. I’m a very lucky person.”
Olivia’s Wild Life assignment in Russia saw her filming reports on a breeding program aimed at restoring the population of rare peregrine falcons, as well as meeting with a Russian biologist who has become the father to a group of baby bears. While the reports are bound to be colorful and informative, Olivia says the real adventure was happening off camera. “To film the baby bears we had to drive out of Moscow for what was meant to be a seven-hour Journey,” she says. “We broke down three times, and it ended up taking about nine hours! We were meant to be staying in a hotel, but it ended up being so spooky. We left there after one night and were lucky enough to be put up in the home of the biologist who was looking after the bears.”
“We were so lucky to stay there. We had locally grown food from their garden, milk from their cow and we sat around singing songs. They sang Russian songs to us, and we sang Aussie songs to them. It was great.”
Wild Life returns to the Nine Network on Thursday, January 25, at 7.30pm.