Why love in my life is the best medicine of all

10s Olivia Newton-John article Olivia Newton-John article Olivia Newton-John article Olivia Newton-John article Olivia Newton-John article Olivia Newton-John article

Interview: Sarah Curran. Photos: Denise Truscello, Kathryn Burke

She has sold millions of records, won four Grammy awards, performed for the Pope, met Diana, Princess of Wales, been awarded an OBE by the Queen and famously danced with John Travolta, but these days it is the peacefulness of her home life in Santa Barbara, California, close to nature, that brings Olivia Newton-John the most joy.

I’m really enjoying the downtime, which I probably have never really had in my life, because I’ve been working since I was 15. So this is my first chance to take time out and I’m loving it, Olivia exclusively tells hello! Home has always been a wonderful sanctuary filled with a menagerie of dogs, horses - The more creatures on four legs, the better - and chickens.

She used to love to fill her days playing tennis or riding up into the hills on her beloved horse with her pack of dogs in tow. Now I’d be content with table tennis and my miniature horses, she reveals in her memoir Don’t Stop Believin' which she wrote after she was hit with cancer for the third time in 2017. The first time was when her only child, 33-year-old singer and actress Chloe, from her marriage to Matt Lattanzi, was six years old; the second was in 2013. I’ve had wonderful support from my darling daughter, who has been by my side, and from my wonderful husband John. One of the best medicines is having love in my life. He is the most loving husband - even-keeled, mellow, kind. He’s my rock.

She married John Easterling, chief executive of Amazon Herb Company, in June 2008 on a mountain in the Andes in Peru. She tells us they have the same outlook on life. We’re like peas in a pod. I’m human so I have my days and my moments of course, but he just inspires me and I have total belief in him and that I’ll be fine. Of finding the love of my life when she was 59, she says: There is no time limit on finding The One.

It was another John - Travolta - and the song You’re the One That I Want that catapulted Olivia to worldwide fame in the hit movie Grease in 1978. John and I still stay in touch. It feels like yesterday and it feels like another lifetime at the same time. It was so long ago and the movie’s still loved - that’s what amazes me. People still love to watch it and talk about it, and everybody I meet asks me about it. I’m just so grateful that it made so many people happy. I feel very blessed to be a part of a movie that will last forever.

Olivia was reunited with former co-star John - who has the warmest smile on the planet - for the film’s 40th anniversary in 2018. The year marked a personal milestone for Olivia, too: her 70th birthday. I can’t even believe I’m 70. Age is a number. You can make of it what you wish. I’m grateful just to get to 70 and still feel like there are things that I want to do.

Of her birthday celebrations, she reveals: I had all these thoughts that I was going to be having dinner parties with different friends in different parts of the world, but it ended up that I was in my hospital in Melbourne. She had been admitted to the Australian Cancer Wellness & Research Centre that she herself had founded in 2012 to undergo a course of radiation therapy, after her cancer weakened pelvis fractured.

While it was not the celebration she had wished for, she tells us: It was absolutely perfect because it was a culmination of a dream of my lifetime to be able to stand in this beautiful space with my family and friends who I really love. I didn’t need anything else.

It’s never great to be in hospital, but it was one of the most lovely experiences for me to actually experience my own centre. When I was going through cancer for the first time, I had treatments like acupuncture, homeopathy, massage, yoga and meditation. I wanted all these things to be available to other patients to help them through their journey, and now it’s a beautiful centre in Melbourne.

Following the fracture, Olivia - who also believes in the medicinal use of cannabis to combat pain and anxiety - had to learn to walk again. I went from walking with a cane to walking without anything. Major milestones teach you to be grateful for things that you took for granted. Of her health now, she says: I’m doing great, thank you. I’m doing well. Olivia’s upbeat approach is typical. In her memoir she writes of how she has coped during difficult times - of which there have been many, including several miscarriages, her daughter’s anorexia and addiction, and the mysterious disappearance at sea of her then boyfriend Patrick McDermott in 2005.

She tends to not to dwell on the negative: I let it go. I try to stay in the moment because that’s a happy way to lead your life.

POSITIVE THINKING

Born in England and raised in Australia, where her family emigrated when she was five, Olivia secured a record deal with Decca in 1966 and had hits with songs including If Not For You and Take Me Home, Country Roads. She describes herself as strong rather than tough. Does the power of positivity play a big role in her life? Oh, absolutely. You have to think positively. Your life is a huge part of your healing, and your mental wellbeing is just as important as everything else. Staying positive and seeing good things ahead of you and having good things to reach for is really important to me.

Olivia says of the year ahead: My goal is to get healthier and stronger, and that’s happening. But my main goal is that, in my lifetime, with our research institute, we can see an end to cancer. My husband is a herbal plant-medicine man who’d been running his own company for many years, and now he formulates products for other people, so I’m lucky to have this wonderful man in my life who can give me the right herbs and who knows what works and what doesn’t. Even before him I was very much into natural therapies, so now I’m using a combination of Western medicine and natural therapies to stay healthy.

After 50 years in the spotlight, could she be tempted to tour again? I’m easing into the decade without a mic in my hands. I’m just being.

Photos: Olivia and her daughter Chloe attend a premiere in 2016 (below left). She’s my only child. I call her the lucky egg, says Olivia. Each year Olivia heads a fun run in aid of her Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Melbourne (below right).