Olivia Newton-John’s daughter Chloe has shared her mother’s final loving words to her before she died from breast cancer last year.
Chloe Lattanzi and Newton-John’s husband John Easterling spoke on the Today show in the USA on Friday (local time), six months after her passing in August.
Right up until she could no longer speak, Chloe told the program her dying mother was trying to make people laugh.
“The last words she could say to me was, ‘My sunshine,’ ” said Chloe whose father is Newton-John’s ex-husband Matt Lattanzi.
“And right before she lost her ability to speak, she was making jokes.”
Chloe and Easterling held hands as they spoke of life without the beloved actress and breast cancer campaigner.
Chloe said: “I love my mom more than anything.
“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.”
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Easterling also opened up about his late wife and revealed he still speaks to the 73-year-old.
“You’ll know I’ll just be walking around the house or throwing the ball for the dogs and just speak to her out loud,” he said.
He continued: “A guy I was flying with said, ‘You know, John, when you’re lucky enough to have found your true soul mate, 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.”
Memorial service
A memorial service for Newton-John will be held from 4pm AEDT on February 26 at the Arts Centre Melbourne’s Hamer Hall.
The service will feature special tributes from Newton-John’s family and friends, including a performance by singer Delta Goodrem.
Newton-John, best known for playing Sandy in the 1978 hit film Grease opposite John Travolta, died on August 8 at the age of 73.
She battled breast cancer three times after first being diagnosed in 1992, leading her to create the Olivia Newton-John Foundation to fund cancer research.
She also founded the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Melbourne, which supports people living with the disease.
