Olivia Newton-John’s daughter says her mother kept her sense of humor right until she died.
“The last words she could say to me was, ‘My sunshine,” Chloe Lattanzi said when she and Newton-John’s widower, John Easterling, sat down for their first TV interview since her death with TODAY’s Hoda Kotb in a conversation that aired Feb. 17. “And right before she lost her ability to speak, she was making jokes.”
Newton-John was treated multiple times for breast cancer and died in August 2022 at the age of 73. Lattanzi is her daughter with her ex-husband, Matt Lattanzi. She says her mother was a truly special person to her and to her fans.
“I love my mom more than anything,” she said while choking up. “She’s my mama, you know? She’s not Olivia Newton-John to me, but I’m so glad that she was Olivia Newton-John for so many people.”
Newton-John, whose duet of “Jolene” with friend Dolly Parton will be released Feb. 17, was a four-time Grammy winner who became a sensation starring in “Grease.” Lattanzi says the support she has gotten from her mother’s fans has helped her.
“It actually has been a life raft. It has felt like a big hug from the universe,” she said. “And I’m very grateful for all of the people who reached out to us and extended their heart and their connection.”
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Easterling, who married Newton-John in 2008, also feels a sense of gratitude that he got to be part of her life.
“Every day, I miss Olivia terribly. And yet every day I’m really super grateful that I had 15 wonderful years with this extraordinary human being,” he said.
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Easterling, who said he still speaks out loud to Newton-John, said she remained a beacon of hope right up until her death.
“She had the willpower, even in her most difficult times, to really bring in the light and to bring in the love,” he said. “And she was who she was all the way through.”
Easterling also said he’s come to realize there’s a way to honor Newton-John.
“A guy I was flying with said, ‘You know, John, when you’re lucky enough to have found your true soulmate, and you share a heart, when one passes, the other has the obligation to live life for both,’” he said. “And that was very empowering and very powerful for me, and gave a way forward.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
