Olivia Newton-John’s family shares memories of beloved icon
Every day I miss Olivia, you know, terribly and yeah, every day I'm really super grateful that I had 15 wonderful years with this extraordinary human being. Extraordinary and courageous, two words often used to describe the singer and actress Olivia Newton-John who charmed generations of fans with her music and movies and inspired countless others as she courageously battled breast cancer for decades. Chloe, to all of us, she was kind of an icon, but to you she was mom. What did that mean to you? I love my mom more than anything and 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. I felt privileged to have sat with her and and enjoyed time with her. We're sisters, you know, anyone that has gone on this journey with cancer it's under unknown destinations and surprises and turns. One thing I noticed about her was that she was at her best when she was talking about someone else, when she wasn't talking about herself.
That's exactly right. I mean, that's her. She was very caring, very giving, and had a, what I say, like a bandwidth to care. I mean, genuinely and authentically care for people like I've never seen before. John, people often asked her in interviews about her prognosis and she never liked to talk about that. She said I'm not talking about that because I'm not going to define myself by that. If I think that way, I will go that way.
What was it like at the end for her? She was, you know, very aware and, I mean, the last, it's a long journey, okay, but she had the willpower even in her most difficult times to really bring in the light and to bring in the love and she was who she was, you know, all the way through. Chloe, did she have anything that she wanted to tell you at the end? Last word she could say to me was my sunshine and right before she lost her ability to speak, she was making jokes. John, when do you feel her the most now? Late at night. It's early in the morning. And then, you know, I mean, I'll just be walking around the house or throwing the ball for the dogs in and just speak to her out loud. And 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. And that was very empowering and very powerful for me and, you know, and gave a way forward.
And a way forward for Chloe, who understands healing can come in many forms. Chloe, your mom was remarkable in so many different ways. I'm sure there are beautiful things about everyone loving her and knowing that everyone missed her. And then how have you been dealing with that? It actually has been a life raft. It has felt like a big hug from the universe. And I'm very grateful for all of the people who reached out to us and extended their heart and their connection. A connection that John and Chloe hope will continue as a last recording of Olivia singing with her longtime friend, Dolly Parton, will be released today.
It's a duet of the song, JoLeen, made famous by Dolly, recorded just months before Olivia passed away. I just thought, how perfect is this? It's like these two beautiful icons. Your mom and your wife has since passed, but here it is giving us yet another gift. Well, it's a gorgeous duet and Dolly is a wonderful person. She was a good friend of Olivia. I think it expresses part of who she was and that she, as I do, feel like everyone has a very unique and special gift. I mean, for her it was her voice.
She knew that. That was a gift. She understood it was a gift and she gave that very generously. A lot of people who've lost people always say, my loved one has words of wisdom they want to impart on me at the end. Was there anything like that? Well, your love was just the message is love. Just to focus on the gratitude, whatever in life you have to be grateful for your friends or your family or the way you feel or the beauty of the sunshine. And just be grateful and express love to the people that you love.
We did that interview. They were in California. I was here in New York, but one thing he told me, John told me how they first met. He said he went to a concert of Olivia Newton-John. He's all about healing. John is and he does some work in the Amazon. He said he watched her sing.
He said he felt the healing feeling that he gets when he's in the Amazon. The next morning he said he was at the pool at the hotel and he saw her and he said, can I ask you a question? And she said, sure. He said, I was at your concert. Will you go to the Amazon with me? Because there's a real healing feeling there. And he goes, she looked at me 10 seconds later and said yes. So she went, she took that risk because she knew she brought two friends along in case it was. But she went with him and he said three days later we were in love.
15 years together. And that's something really is. Oh my gosh, what a love story. What a comfort for her in her later years. I mean, it's just so, it's so hard because of course, no one's ready to let her go. And his whole part about being a soulmate that you sort of have the obligation to continue to live for both of you. I love that.
And that's because he wanted the path forward like what do I do today now? And he talked about when he hears her music and how it soothes him, but now he feels an obligation. I love that. Yeah. And his daughter, their daughter too. I'm the souls out today. Yeah, the Jolene's out today. And can you imagine she was ill when she sang it.
They did it in different locations, but you wouldn't know. That was great. We're going to have more of the conversation a little later this month. It's focused on John and Chloe's push to continue Olivia's groundbreaking work on cancer research and wellness. A lot of plant based ways that she healed herself. A huge legacy of healing in addition to everything else. Yeah.
And that charm. All right, we'll look forward to that. Hey, thanks for watching. Don't miss the Today Show every weekday at 11 a.m. Eastern 8 Pacific on our streaming channel today all day. To watch head to today.
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