London - Cancer, divorce, the mysterious disappearance of her partner… Olivia Newton-John has had enough troubles to last her a lifetime.
The 64-year-old singer and actress has revealed how she resorted to anti-depressants and therapy to cope when her troubles were at their worst.
The Grease star said she took the pills for three months after her partner of nine years, Patrick McDermott, vanished on a fishing trip off the Californian coast in 2005. He never returned and was presumed drowned.
In an interview, she said: “Of course I still think about him. It was a difficult time and [they]got me out of a hole. I took them until I could see the light again and never did them again. I didn’t want to become dependent on them. That’s why I stopped.”
Newton-John, who is now married to businessman John Easterling, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, and cancelled a comeback tour.
Three years later she divorced husband Matt Lattanzi, with whom she has a daughter, Chloe.
Asked whether she had ever had therapy, Newton-John replied: “Yes, a few times. Once when I had cancer, another when he [McDermott] disappeared and also during my divorce. I needed it. It gives you the tools to help you heal and deal with things.”
In 2007, her daughter admitted she had suffered from an eating disorder as a teenager, saying: “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I’m taking very good care of myself now.”
Newton-John said: “She’s through that now, but obviously it was very difficult as a parent to watch.”
She admitted that Chloe, 27, a singer-songwriter, has struggled to emerge from her shadow.
She said: “It’s hard for children of famous people. They think they should live up to their parents.”
Newton-John was born in England but moved to Australia as a child. She returns to the UK in March for her first concert tour there since 1978. - Daily Mail