Updated July 5th, 2019

Love Conquers All: How Olivia Newton-John’s Second Marriage Gives Her Strength On Her Cancer Journey

Newton-John's husband, John Easterling, is also an herbalist who supports Newton-John's medical marijuana use to ease her cancer-related pain and stress.

SurvivorNet Staff

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If you ask someone who’s been through a cancer diagnosis what it was that helped them find strength during the most challenging moments, there’s a good chance their response won’t be an “it” so much as a “who.” Survivors often tell us that, at the end of the day, it’s their loved onestheir husbands, wives, parents, children, grandchildren, friends, lovers, and partnerswho support them through their journey with cancer.

Olivia Newton-John’s husband, John Easterling, is an entrepreneur who founded the company “Amazon Herbs.” Image credit: People magazine

This is true for Olivia Newton-John, 70, the beloved actress and songwriter best known for her role playing Sandy in “Grease,” who has been dealing with a difficult journey with breast cancer since she was first diagnosed in 1992. Newton-John’s second husband, John Easterling, 67, has been her pillar of support for over a decade (the couple was married in 2009).

When Newton-John was first diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer nearly three decades ago, she was treated with nine months of chemotherapy and a breast removal surgery, called a mastectomy. It was a lot to go through, and at the time, she was married to her now-ex husband, the actor and dancer Matt Lattanzi — they married when he was 25 and she was 36 — and was caring for their then-six-year-old daughter, Chloe Rose Lattanzi. And while Newton-John was able to overcome her first bout with cancer, the treatment wasn’t the only aspect of her life challenging her: she and Lattanzi divorced three years after the breast cancer diagnosis.

Olivia Newton-John’s marriage with her first husband Matt Lattanzi (R) didn’t last, but the two gave birth to Newton-John’s only daughter and other pillar of support, Chloe Rose Lattanzi. Image credit: Country Living Magazine

Then, Newton-John’s cancer returned in 2013, after she had gone through the traumatic disappearance of Patrick McDermott, the cameraman boyfriend she dated off and on after her divorce. McDermott, then 48, had gone on a fishing trip off the coast of California in 2005, and never returned.

Newton-John’s boyfriend of ten years, Patrick McDermott, disappeared in 2005.

Again, Newton-John overcame her cancer while going through these difficult personal struggles.

Perhaps that’s why, when her cancer returned yet again in 2017, this time having spread to her tailbone, it meant so much that Newton-John was in a happy, supportive relationship with Easterling.

Newton-John and Easterling were married in 2009. Their wedding was in secret, but was reported to have been in Peru.

Newton-John’s Medical Marijuana Use

Easterling is an entrepreneur who founded Amazon Herb Company, a company that sells, among other natural supplements, marijuana products. It comes as no surprise, then, that Easterling has supported Newton-John using legally-grown medical marijuana and other cannabis products to help ease the pain and stress associated with her advanced breast cancer.

Olivia Newton-John was recently seen grocery shopping with her 33-year-old daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, who is her other main pillar of support.

Importantly, Newton-John has been public about the fact that her marijuana use hasn’t been in place of conventional treatment for her breast cancer.

Newton-John has still been receiving treatment from licensed oncologists while also using marijuana as a complementary therapy–a combination of treatment types that doctors call “integrative medicine.”

My gorgeous husband @amazonjohn in an Italian vineyard pic.twitter.com/XriiR4C4
Olivia Newton-John (@olivianj) November 4, 2011

Simplifying Their Lives

Sometimes in the wake of a cancer diagnosis or occurrence, it can be helpful for people to simplify their lives financially. Newton-John and Easterling have been keeping it simple in the wake of the cancer recurrence.

Last month, they put two of their homes on the market–one a ranch in Australia and the other a home in California. Newton-John also auctioned off the leather pants she wore in “Grease.”

Don't Stop Believin' is my story in my words. I’m so proud that $1 from every hardback sold is donated to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre. It's available in Australia wherever books… https://t.co/t1fK56jqQi
Olivia Newton-John (@olivianj) October 12, 2018

As Newton-John, who is now 70-years-old, leans on Easterling for support, companionship, and strength, she’s also been using her strength to share her story and advocate for cancer research.

The star recently published a memoir, titled “Don’t Stop Believin'” and optimistically told a British Interviewer, "I want to be part of finding a cure for cancer. Is It truly within our grasp? You have to believe that."

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