Speaker 1: It's so funny. Many of the things in my career
Speaker 1: that I was really nervous about ended up being really
Speaker 1: successful for me, because sometimes you just have to put
Speaker 1: yourself out
Speaker 2: there and take a chance
Speaker 2: from the Mother Mia podcast network. I'm Mia Freedman, and
Speaker 2: you're listening to no philtre counted conversations that count. Seeing
Speaker 2: someone in person that you've grown up with on the
Speaker 2: screen is really weird. It's lovely, but it's weird. When
Speaker 2: Olivia Newton John walked out of the lift and into
Speaker 2: the Mummy office one Wednesday morning recently,
Speaker 2: she was really fragile but also somehow full of energy.
Speaker 2: At the same time, she glowed as we said our
Speaker 2: hellos and she sort of got her bearings. I watched
Speaker 2: her and I was struck by how she's really naturally curious.
Speaker 2: And she's kind of effervescent, like a Baraka, and she's
Speaker 2: deeply connected to animals. One of the first things she
Speaker 2: knows
Speaker 2: was that there was a dog bed next to someone's desk,
Speaker 2: and I saw her whole face light up as she
Speaker 2: went looking for a dog in the office and she
Speaker 2: was really crest fel. And when I had to tell
Speaker 2: her that the dogs weren't actually in the office today.
Speaker 2: She was super excited about patting something. It's hard not
Speaker 2: to found girl over Olivia Newton John. I dare you
Speaker 2: to try. It's Sandy from Grease. It's tell me more.
Speaker 2: It's summer lovin it Xanadu. It's roller skates and it's
Speaker 2: Let's get physical.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's hard to think of a more iconic
Speaker 2: Australian or one that's more beloved than Olivia Newton. John
Speaker 2: Olivia has had some incredible highs in her life and
Speaker 2: also some really crushing lows.
Speaker 2: She's had breast cancer. She was one of the first
Speaker 2: celebrities to talk openly and honestly about being diagnosed and
Speaker 2: then treated for breast cancer. She's lost her beloved sister, Corona.
Speaker 2: Her former partner, Patrick, disappeared in mysterious circumstances that no
Speaker 2: one ever really seemed to figure out.
Speaker 2: Her God daughter died when she was just six. Olivia's
Speaker 2: been divorced, and she's experienced infertility and miscarriages, and she's
Speaker 2: also had two wonderful marriages and an extraordinary international career.
Speaker 2: A daughter who she is devoted to, and a life
Speaker 2: full of laughter and love and adventure and animals. She
Speaker 2: even tried ayahuasca, the hallucinogenic drug with her husband in Peru.
Speaker 2: Olivia is about to turn 70 and she's optimistic about
Speaker 2: the future despite the fact that her cancer has returned
Speaker 2: for the third time.
Speaker 2: Her new memoir is aptly called Don't Stop Believing, and
Speaker 2: we had a lot to talk about, including the time
Speaker 2: that she tried a whisker. I wanted to know what
Speaker 2: that was like and her miscarriages and her cancer and
Speaker 2: her hot husbands, one of whom lived in a teepee
Speaker 2: for a while. But first I wanted to start with
Speaker 2: all of the questions that I had and that I'm
Speaker 2: sure you have about what else? Greece.
Speaker 2: Here's Olivia Newton, John
Speaker 2: Olivia. Tell me about your first day on the set
Speaker 2: of Greece. It wasn't even a day of filming, was
Speaker 2: it that first day you know the first thing I
Speaker 2: said of Greece.
Speaker 1: We Alencar gave us a
Speaker 2: sock hop, so
Speaker 1: he wanted us to get to know each other. So
Speaker 1: he played a lot of music and we danced and
Speaker 1: and kind of got to know each other was really
Speaker 1: clever idea because it got us into the idea of
Speaker 1: being a lot younger than we were. Yeah, and forming
Speaker 1: a family,
Speaker 1: and, uh, it was a really clever idea and he
Speaker 1: used a lot of that to get us energised. He
Speaker 1: would have little parties at his house and invite us,
Speaker 1: and he kept us all very excited, which was showed
Speaker 1: in the energy of the film.
Speaker 2: It sure did. You talked about how it being 1978
Speaker 2: when the film was made.
Speaker 2: It was so different to the time that was portrayed
Speaker 2: in the film, which was the fifties, and how you
Speaker 2: were nervous about the clash of those two times on
Speaker 2: those two eras. What was it like then, in terms
Speaker 2: of What did you mean? What was the sort of
Speaker 2: the feeling in the seventies that felt so different to
Speaker 2: the movie?
Speaker 1: Well, no, I don't think that I think I was
Speaker 1: more concerned about pulling off being 17
Speaker 2: right
Speaker 1: than I was about the two different eras, because it
Speaker 1: was it was a movie. We were playing a different era,
Speaker 1: but the fifties had a really exciting
Speaker 1: think about them. I think the movie is almost cartoon
Speaker 1: like in that it takes each character and makes them
Speaker 1: larger than life. Everyone was larger than life and bigger
Speaker 1: and funnier, and the costumes were bright and so I
Speaker 1: think it was kind of a wonderful ode to the fifties,
Speaker 1: but the seventies, you know, it was a different time,
Speaker 1: but I could relate. Even though I was very young,
Speaker 2: you didn't want to be in the film. You said no,
Speaker 2: John Travolta said. He was cast and they were looking
Speaker 2: for Sandy, and he said the only one he wanted
Speaker 2: was you were the one that I want.
Speaker 2: How did he convince you? How did the director convince you?
Speaker 1: Well, first of all, I had dinner with Alan Carr
Speaker 1: and Helen Reddy's house, and that's really how the whole
Speaker 1: conversation began. And I had made a movie in England
Speaker 1: in the sixties called Tomorrow, which was a musical. I
Speaker 1: was in a band in in the movie, and it
Speaker 1: was a space musical.
Speaker 1: And it wasn't a big success, although it was supposed
Speaker 1: to have been because Harry Saltzman, who did the James
Speaker 1: Bond movies, and Don Kirshner, who put the monkeys together,
Speaker 1: joined up to make this brand new group. They were
Speaker 1: going to make all these movies and it didn't work.
Speaker 1: So I was very nervous about making another movie and
Speaker 1: particularly musical because my musical career was taking off my
Speaker 1: music career, not my musical career. So I had to
Speaker 1: be convinced because I want to make another mistake. So
Speaker 1: they talked to me and I was going, I'm not sure.
Speaker 1: So
Speaker 1: they sent John to my house,
Speaker 1: and once that beautiful man came walking up the driveway
Speaker 1: with those bright blue eyes and and said, You're the
Speaker 1: you know you're my choice And but he was very
Speaker 1: gentle and very calm, and we just spent the day
Speaker 1: together and hang around the animals. And, uh then I said, Well,
Speaker 1: you know what? I'm a bit nervous about playing 17.
Speaker 1: I was all of 29
Speaker 1: and when I look back now, I don't know what
Speaker 1: I was worried about. You know, it's all
Speaker 2: relative to the age
Speaker 1: you are. And I said, I think maybe if we
Speaker 1: do a screen test and I can see
Speaker 1: that this can work, that maybe maybe I consider it
Speaker 1: so They put together a screen test, and that's really
Speaker 1: how it all fell into place.
Speaker 2: It was very cool headed of you, wasn't it? That
Speaker 2: showed a real pragmatism, and I want for a career
Speaker 2: with longevity
Speaker 1: and a lot of fear. I think
Speaker 2: yet and he so it's not many actresses, you know.
Speaker 2: I want to audition. Yeah, let me see.
Speaker 1: It's so funny. Many of the things in my
Speaker 1: career that I was really nervous about ended up being
Speaker 1: really successful for me because sometimes you just have to
Speaker 1: put yourself out there and take a chance. And
Speaker 2: so I ended up
Speaker 1: taking that chance. But it was nerve racking.
Speaker 2: So where was John and his career and where were
Speaker 2: you in your career at that stage?
Speaker 1: I'm glad you asked that, because that's what I was
Speaker 1: merely to say to you, because when he walked up
Speaker 1: the driveway,
Speaker 1: I just knew him from Welcome back, Kotter.
Speaker 2: Yeah,
Speaker 1: which is a series on TV where he played this
Speaker 1: really cute guy and Saturday Night Fever.
Speaker 2: Not yet part
Speaker 1: of the world. So we I'm really glad of that
Speaker 1: because I think I would have been too intimidated had
Speaker 1: I seen the movie or known about it beforehand as
Speaker 1: we were almost finished Greece because I remember being in
Speaker 1: my sandy to outfit in my black outfit, and John said,
Speaker 1: we're having a screening of Saturday Night Fever. It's the
Speaker 1: uncut we haven't finished at. The music is not in.
Speaker 1: And so Dede and myself and quite a few of
Speaker 1: us went to watch it, and it was like, Oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: he's going to be, like, iconic And then I was like,
Speaker 1: I'm so glad I did this movie before I saw it.
Speaker 1: You know, my musical career was doing pretty well. I
Speaker 1: wasn't huge, but I was doing very well
Speaker 1: and so we're kind of similar. That's what made it,
Speaker 1: I think, work out
Speaker 2: the decision to make Sandy Australia and how did that
Speaker 2: come about?
Speaker 1: Because I told them, You know, I was coming up
Speaker 1: with all the excuses in the world where I couldn't
Speaker 1: play it, and one of them was, I can't do
Speaker 1: an American accent
Speaker 1: So they called me back and said, OK, we'll make
Speaker 1: you a
Speaker 2: Nazi Well,
Speaker 1: thank you, okay. And I think that worked really well
Speaker 1: for the part as well. It's made it a little
Speaker 1: more interesting that
Speaker 2: fish out of water.
Speaker 1: I was probably one of the first people to have
Speaker 1: an Australian accent. I think
Speaker 2: there's a beautiful moment in the book that you write
Speaker 2: about at the Bonfire, which is quite early in the film,
Speaker 2: and Danny and Sandy see each other again for the
Speaker 2: first time and realise that they're at school together.
Speaker 2: Oh, that's such a beautiful moment when he first sees
Speaker 2: you and all the things written on his face. But
Speaker 2: tell me about the filming of that scene because there's
Speaker 2: a beautiful story. You tell about it in the book.
Speaker 1: Well, it was at night and it was a big scene, really,
Speaker 1: because I had to do a whole transition as well.
Speaker 1: What's
Speaker 2: the transition?
Speaker 1: Well, kind of from happiness to sadness and, you know,
Speaker 1: feelings of emotion. And
Speaker 1: I was a little nervous of it. Excited. I was excited.
Speaker 2: You were nervous.
Speaker 1: And did he know I was nervous? Deedee was fabulous
Speaker 1: to me.
Speaker 2: Friendship, Friendship. You guys became friends.
Speaker 1: We're still friends. She's a wonderful girl. And she was
Speaker 1: accomplished actor. So we'd rehearsed together. Anyway. I do the
Speaker 1: scene and I'm pulled up towards John and I do
Speaker 1: my thing.
Speaker 1: Tell me,
Speaker 2: what are you doing
Speaker 1: here? I
Speaker 2: thought you were going back to
Speaker 1: Australia. We have a change of plan.
Speaker 2: Keep.
Speaker 1: Well, that's cool. baby. You
Speaker 2: know how it is
Speaker 1: Rocking and rode in. What?
Speaker 2: Not Danny,
Speaker 1: That's my name. Don't wear it out. And he just
Speaker 1: waved his hands like this. It was my close up,
Speaker 1: and he waved his hands in front of the camera,
Speaker 1: walked up to me and whispered to me, I think
Speaker 1: he can do it better. So he messed up to
Speaker 1: take on purpose because he thought I could do it better.
Speaker 1: So that was really generous of him. And I've always
Speaker 1: been grateful for that because it was, you know, he
Speaker 1: was helping me,
Speaker 2: did. He has been quoted as saying that there was
Speaker 2: a lot of hormones and a lot of chemistry on
Speaker 2: the set and that she said, um, the trailers were
Speaker 2: rocking and rolling between
Speaker 1: Doesn't mine,
Speaker 2: may I
Speaker 1: specify? But yeah, there was some of that going on,
Speaker 2: and you tell a story about Nikki, who met your
Speaker 2: sister when she came. Your sister, Rohner, who came to
Speaker 2: visit on the set and they got married.
Speaker 1: They got married. They fell madly in love and got married.
Speaker 1: So my brother in law was good, Nicky, for many
Speaker 2: years. Was that weird?
Speaker 1: I'm not at the time, he was a character. He
Speaker 1: was a he was quite a character, but he he
Speaker 1: was a sweet guy, and unfortunately, we lost him about
Speaker 1: a year before my sister passed. So they're both gone now. But,
Speaker 1: yeah, there was some pretty well days there. My brother
Speaker 1: in law.
Speaker 2: I wanted to ask you about that final scene, and
Speaker 2: it's funny. It's funny watching it through. You know, I've
Speaker 2: watched it obviously 100 times when I was growing up
Speaker 2: and then with my kids and watching it through the
Speaker 2: lens of political correctness today and you go over there
Speaker 2: was bullying and there was smoking. And there was all
Speaker 2: these different things real sexual harassment and all of these things,
Speaker 2: which is exactly real life. Um,
Speaker 1: how
Speaker 2: did that come about? That idea of that transformation in
Speaker 2: the end and to what you call Sandy to
Speaker 1: the idea was, you know, people have criticised said Well,
Speaker 1: she changed for him and she becomes this and it's
Speaker 1: a movie, and also he changed for her. So he
Speaker 1: let it in sport and wore a Letterman jacket which
Speaker 1: was totally against all his friends and everything that he
Speaker 1: was doing, and she changed for him.
Speaker 1: And then they came together. It was very sweet, actually.
Speaker 2: What was it like filming on those? I imagine it
Speaker 2: went over a few days as
Speaker 1: well. That was That was a lot of fun. Tell
Speaker 1: me about those
Speaker 2: hands. Tell me about the pants.
Speaker 1: Well, at the time, we're now in the seventies. Those
Speaker 1: pants are from the fifties. So they were in wardrobe
Speaker 1: and they brought out a whole bunch of clothes and
Speaker 1: things for me to try on. But they just had
Speaker 1: that beautiful. You know, uh, they were sharkskin. Not real shark,
Speaker 1: of course, but they called us skin and very thick,
Speaker 1: powerful material. But the zip was broken, as you probably know,
Speaker 1: and they didn't wanna risk ruining the whole pants by
Speaker 1: replacing the zip. So it was decided they'd stitch me in,
Speaker 1: so that made it a very interesting What
Speaker 2: about the toilet?
Speaker 1: I would be
Speaker 2: nervous ways.
Speaker 1: No, I had to be unstitched, so I couldn't drink
Speaker 1: a lot. So probably wasn't the best health thing for me,
Speaker 1: But it was only for a few days
Speaker 2: and did it
Speaker 1: makes a good story now.
Speaker 2: Did you see the difference in the way the sort
Speaker 2: of the cast and crew looked at you.
Speaker 1: Oh, absolutely. Because, you know, for like, two months, I'd
Speaker 1: been sandy wine and my cute little outfits and,
Speaker 1: you know, and then the night before, we were filming, uh,
Speaker 1: the hair and makeup and Albert Wolski, who was the costumer.
Speaker 1: We tried on all these outfits and John was filming. Um,
Speaker 1: he was singing Sandy at the drive in, and I
Speaker 1: was there with makeup and hair, and I walked out
Speaker 1: just as he was finishing. He stopped singing, stood up
Speaker 1: and everyone just turned around. It was like
Speaker 1: and I went What I've been doing wrong all these months,
Speaker 1: It was very powerful moment for me. He was like, Goodness,
Speaker 1: clothing can make this difference. It's really incredible perceptions people
Speaker 1: have of you because of the way you're dressed.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it happened to me in another movie I made
Speaker 1: called sordid lives where I played a lesbian country and
Speaker 1: Western singer. And I had tattoos and I cut my
Speaker 1: hair really short, and I will really daddy clothes and
Speaker 1: horrible outfits. And I remember going home dressed like that
Speaker 1: once I went into my local chemist to buy something
Speaker 1: and a woman.
Speaker 1: We're standing with a little girl and she pulled a
Speaker 1: little girl into her like I was a threat. It
Speaker 1: was hilarious and always remember that. And I thought, You know,
Speaker 1: you can't judge a book by its cover and remember
Speaker 1: that for myself from that time on, very often those
Speaker 1: big guys that look so beef there, the softest, sweetest
Speaker 1: people in the world You know what
Speaker 2: was
Speaker 2: like in that time afterwards? I mean, I know that
Speaker 2: now there's the expression shipping, which is relation shipping when fans, um,
Speaker 2: try to project relationships that don't exist. And everyone wanted
Speaker 2: you and John Travolta to date, But you never did.
Speaker 2: Why why did you never I'm still shipping you 40
Speaker 2: years later,
Speaker 1: shipping. I've never heard that funny. We were both with
Speaker 1: other people when we were filming,
Speaker 1: and I think respectfully, we just didn't happen. And I
Speaker 1: think
Speaker 1: I think it was good because I think it kept
Speaker 1: the tension there in the chemistry. It might have been
Speaker 1: a really disaster had we decided to date or we
Speaker 1: had falling out or something. So I think it was
Speaker 1: just
Speaker 1: just as well. It didn't happen. But we're still great friends,
Speaker 2: and not everyone stays friends with the people. They make
Speaker 2: films we've heard it explained that it's quite a almost
Speaker 2: like a summer camp vibe or a holiday romance, and
Speaker 2: then you move on with your lives. But you stayed
Speaker 2: friends with Dede and with John, that friendship seems to
Speaker 2: be really
Speaker 1: still very simple. And Randal Kleiser, the director. In fact,
Speaker 1: I just had dinner with him the other day, so
Speaker 1: it's taken us 40 years to have dinner, he said.
Speaker 1: We did it,
Speaker 1: Um, but yeah, I mean those times in your lives
Speaker 1: that are really special. It's lovely to keep contact. I
Speaker 1: have friends from childhood and, you know, friends from all
Speaker 1: my life.
Speaker 2: Xanadu was an incredible film. I love. She loved Greece.
Speaker 2: Oh my God. My family went on a long trip
Speaker 2: around Australia for six weeks, and the only tape that
Speaker 2: we had was so my whole family knows every lyric
Speaker 2: as we drove through the
Speaker 2: yeah back. I've got such strong memories. That film was crazy,
Speaker 2: like when you looked at when you look at it
Speaker 2: on paper and you go you know, it's roller skating
Speaker 2: and it's fantasy, and it's Gene Kelly is in it.
Speaker 2: And how did you say yes to that? How did
Speaker 2: you decide to do that film?
Speaker 1: Well, I've been looking for something, and, um,
Speaker 1: this one had. I liked the idea of the muse,
Speaker 1: and I like the idea of L. O and John
Speaker 1: Farah writing the music. So the script was never really finished,
Speaker 1: and it was kind of written as we went along,
Speaker 1: which is, I think, the one fall. That's where it
Speaker 1: fell down somehow. But I think the music and the
Speaker 1: dancing was years beyond ahead of its time. Kenny Ortega,
Speaker 1: who was the choreographer who was Michael Jackson's choreographer, and
Speaker 1: I worked with him for many years, but he's incredibly
Speaker 1: brilliant and famous choreographer, but he was kind of starting
Speaker 1: out then,
Speaker 1: and he brought on all these street dancers and people
Speaker 1: doing all the things they're doing now. He had them
Speaker 1: doing 30 years ago, whatever
Speaker 2: it was. And roller skates,
Speaker 1: roller skates. Yeah, I had to learn that. That was
Speaker 1: That was not one of my more pleasurable memories, because
Speaker 1: I broke my tailbone right when we were filming? Um, yes.
Speaker 1: And I had to And I'm one of those as
Speaker 1: I talk in the book a lot about the show
Speaker 1: must go on and continue, no matter what. So I
Speaker 1: was sitting on a nice doughnut a lot
Speaker 2: like
Speaker 1: 20 takes. Oh, yeah,
Speaker 2: Get a bit further back was
Speaker 1: excruciating. Yeah.
Speaker 2: You met your first husband, Matt Lattanzi, on the set.
Speaker 2: He was a younger man. Yes, he was 20 when
Speaker 2: you met? Yes. Was that a big deal back then?
Speaker 1: Um, I think it probably was more of a big
Speaker 1: deal then That it is now. Yeah, we kept it
Speaker 1: quiet until the movie was done because we wanted privacy.
Speaker 1: I'm always, always trying to have my privacy, but he
Speaker 1: was a breath of fresh air. He was just very sweet,
Speaker 1: and
Speaker 1: he wasn't sure Beers and he was in Hollywood and
Speaker 1: we'd go camping and fishing and walking. And it was
Speaker 1: just about the outdoors and natural life in a big family.
Speaker 1: So
Speaker 1: I forgot. I think I was just immature was probably
Speaker 1: his age. Really.
Speaker 2: It must have been important to have someone who wasn't
Speaker 2: swayed by the fame and the bright lights
Speaker 2: and kept you grounded.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we had. We had fun together and a beautiful child.
Speaker 1: Which was that was the gift from that relationship. A
Speaker 2: good dad for your, for your daughter. It's funny through
Speaker 2: the book, both of your husbands, apart from being ridiculously
Speaker 2: good looking very grounded in nature
Speaker 1: you very much
Speaker 2: for time. I remember reading. Was Matt living in a teepee?
Speaker 1: Yeah, he was on T. P.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's very into nature.
Speaker 2: And something I didn't know about you is about miscarriages.
Speaker 2: You know, I think it's funny. Every woman has a
Speaker 2: gynaecological history, but back then, that was not something that
Speaker 2: anybody spoke about. Um, really know. So how did you
Speaker 2: get through that?
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I I got pregnant pretty soon after we
Speaker 1: got married, because that time was ahead racing ahead. And
Speaker 1: I was 37 when I had Chloe. So, you know,
Speaker 1: I lost a few after her, and,
Speaker 1: you know, it's like anything you you grieve. It's a loss.
Speaker 1: It's a death. Um, yeah. It's like many women go
Speaker 1: through it, and I think nature has a purpose for it.
Speaker 1: Usually there's something wrong and nature knows, and I think
Speaker 1: if you can come to terms with that. And you
Speaker 1: just have to be grateful. Really?
Speaker 2: The day that you gave birth, Khloe came early. Yeah,
Speaker 2: it wasn't part of the plan.
Speaker 1: You talk
Speaker 2: about how calm you were. And then you went to
Speaker 2: the hospital and epidural went wrong.
Speaker 1: Well, I I was It didn't. It's not a natural
Speaker 1: thing to do. And anything to do with anaesthesia is dangerous.
Speaker 1: And in the spine. To me, it was horror was
Speaker 1: kind of I really didn't want it. But in the end,
Speaker 1: I had to have it, Um,
Speaker 1: and it went wrong. And maybe maybe it was my fault.
Speaker 1: Maybe I projected it. I don't know that. You know,
Speaker 1: sometimes the very things you're afraid of you can make
Speaker 1: them happen to. So I suffered with that for, like,
Speaker 1: seven years afterwards. Because
Speaker 2: your spinal cord Yeah,
Speaker 1: Yeah, he punctured my spinal cord. So he did something wrong.
Speaker 1: And, uh, anyway, I'm here. I'm fine. And I'm sure
Speaker 1: they're much better at it now than back then.
Speaker 2: You had some beautiful years with Chloe, and your best
Speaker 2: friend had a daughter at the same time. Nazi. She
Speaker 2: had a little girl called college. Who is your God daughter?
Speaker 2: And there are a few years in your I think,
Speaker 2: mid forties that were
Speaker 1: just
Speaker 2: one blow after another. And you you write about them
Speaker 2: really movingly in the book collect got cancer. She got
Speaker 2: to her and her kidneys, and
Speaker 2: she ended up not surviving. And your father passed away.
Speaker 2: And then you discovered that you had breast cancer.
Speaker 2: How did you get through those years?
Speaker 1: Well, you know, you have to. And I think when
Speaker 1: you're faced with those things, most people pull their socks
Speaker 1: up and you have to have a young child. I
Speaker 1: had much to live for. Uh, couldn't say I complain
Speaker 1: about my life, but I think nobody escapes without something
Speaker 1: in their life. Just for me. It all happened. A
Speaker 1: lot of things happen together, but that also seems to
Speaker 1: happen a lot that things come in threes for me.
Speaker 1: They come in threes,
Speaker 1: Um, and you just plot on, you know, and I've
Speaker 1: always been pretty positive person and believed that either is
Speaker 1: for a reason or
Speaker 1: whatever, and I think it was for a reason Had
Speaker 1: I not gone through that experience, I probably never would
Speaker 1: have got involved in a cancer on a centre like
Speaker 1: I did, because it wouldn't have had the same meaning
Speaker 1: to me. So it gave me a purpose. And, um,
Speaker 1: you know, losing a parent. Everyone goes through losing a parent.
Speaker 1: We're all going to die at some point. So there's,
Speaker 1: you know, there's a lot of coming to terms with
Speaker 1: a lot of things from that experience.
Speaker 2: And then your marriage broke
Speaker 1: down
Speaker 2: and you write about how
Speaker 2: you think if it hadn't been for the breast cancer,
Speaker 2: probably it would have ended a bit earlier. But he
Speaker 2: seems like a very loyal and he was committed and
Speaker 2: you guys got through it what struck me as well
Speaker 2: as the way you talk about your divorce in your
Speaker 2: separation and the way you were both. How did you
Speaker 2: How did you handle that?
Speaker 1: Well, we had made because I was older.
Speaker 1: I think I always had a maybe a slight knowing
Speaker 1: that may not last forever because he was going to
Speaker 1: get to his manhood and, you know, it's kind of
Speaker 1: normal that he might want to explore life or it
Speaker 1: may not work. I didn't want that to happen. But
Speaker 1: I think in the back of my mind, maybe there
Speaker 1: was a knowingness. So we made a promise to each
Speaker 1: other that if anything happened between us that we wouldn't
Speaker 1: let our door to become the
Speaker 1: the tool in the middle of our divorce, like we'd
Speaker 1: watched other people use their kids as the bartering tool
Speaker 1: and make the kids suffer. So we said no. Whatever happens,
Speaker 1: she has access to you as much as she wants,
Speaker 1: and we'll try and be civil with each other because
Speaker 1: it's not fair on the kids. I've been through divorce.
Speaker 1: He hadn't. My parents were divorced, and I really you know,
Speaker 1: sometimes that's another thing.
Speaker 1: Our divorce was around the same time as my parents divorced.
Speaker 1: So sometimes you unknowingly repeat patterns in your family. Do
Speaker 2: you mean your clothes around the same age that you
Speaker 2: have been when your parents were divorced?
Speaker 1: That's so true
Speaker 2: about repeating patterns, and you did do it very differently.
Speaker 1: I did it differently,
Speaker 2: and you sat down with you, said a female judge
Speaker 2: in your home and sorted through it yes, very quietly
Speaker 2: without drama, without
Speaker 1: the kitchen table. Basically, yeah,
Speaker 2: and before uh, you lost your God daughter. You had
Speaker 2: planned to adopt. Yes, you and Matt tell me about
Speaker 1: that We planned to adopt and I had gone to
Speaker 1: Rome to do a television show called That was really ill.
Speaker 1: And I hadn't with me a suitcase. I was going
Speaker 1: to go to Romania because I had met this woman
Speaker 1: who had adopted a child from Romania. And there was
Speaker 1: a lot of Children at that time in orphanages was
Speaker 1: very on the news in America. And I thought, There's
Speaker 1: some child out there, needs a home
Speaker 1: And I wanted to have a sibling and I wasn't
Speaker 1: going to be able to have any more Children.
Speaker 1: And then when I was in Spain, I got the word, uh,
Speaker 1: sad music collected past, and I just went home. So
Speaker 1: that whole idea went out the window and there's no
Speaker 1: way I was going to replace that. It wasn't the
Speaker 1: time to adopt a child. And we're grieving like that.
Speaker 2: I think every woman comes to a time when she
Speaker 2: has to accept that her years of being a mother
Speaker 2: to a young child or a baby behind her
Speaker 2: yours was obviously made even more complicated by losing Colette.
Speaker 2: How did you sort of process that over time
Speaker 1: you just do you know there's no there's no set
Speaker 1: rules or ways you just you just get on with
Speaker 1: it and work through it and, uh, got Chloe as
Speaker 1: much help as I could because she was very, very young.
Speaker 1: But I know it had an impact on her like
Speaker 1: it did on all of us. And I think maybe
Speaker 1: we didn't
Speaker 1: realised how much of an impact it had on her
Speaker 1: at the time because we're on so much grief and
Speaker 1: then Nancy, I mean, I don't think I mentioned that
Speaker 1: she lost her brother soon after that and there were
Speaker 1: so many things happening. It was almost overwhelmed. But luckily
Speaker 1: I had my work and I had my animals, and
Speaker 1: I had my daughter and my husband and I had
Speaker 1: a fantastic life, so I had things to focus on
Speaker 1: that were positive when we started Sorry, and we started
Speaker 1: the Children's Health Environmental Coalition in her memory.
Speaker 1: I started that with Nancy and Jim to help educate
Speaker 1: parents to the importance of toxic free homes, and they
Speaker 1: were the first people to really do that and you
Speaker 1: know the toxicity, causing cancer and childhood illnesses and things.
Speaker 1: So it was important. So we made something positive out
Speaker 1: of something really negative
Speaker 2: when you were diagnosed with breast cancer. I don't remember
Speaker 2: a celebrity ever coming out and talking about having breast
Speaker 2: cancer before. I feel like you were the first
Speaker 1: before
Speaker 2: it went public. What was that? Actual day like that?
Speaker 2: You discovered the lump because you said you discovered lumps before.
Speaker 1: I just remember that I found alarming. It didn't feel right.
Speaker 1: It was a little tender. Even though they tell you
Speaker 2: what did it feel?
Speaker 1: Usually it's not sensitive, but to me it was. What
Speaker 1: does it feel
Speaker 2: like? They say It feels like a P.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, it's probably a little was probably a little
Speaker 1: bigger than a pea, but it was like a P.
Speaker 1: You're like a little hard lump in there.
Speaker 1: In fact, I, because they have experienced I got involved
Speaker 1: with something called the Live Kit. Is it live kid
Speaker 1: in Australia? I think it is, and it's a self
Speaker 1: breast examination tool that helps you decipher lumps in your
Speaker 1: body more easily in your breast more easily. It makes
Speaker 1: them feel bigger. So anyway, because I want women to
Speaker 1: self examine and not to rely on the doctor every
Speaker 1: six months because he doesn't know your body, You know,
Speaker 1: your body
Speaker 2: and you're doing a self examination that?
Speaker 1: Yeah. So I found it and, um,
Speaker 1: went to the doctor and he did a He sent
Speaker 1: me down for a mammogram which didn't show anything. And
Speaker 1: then a needle biopsy, which didn't show anything. So he
Speaker 1: I said, there's something I just knew there was something wrong.
Speaker 1: So he didn't
Speaker 2: make it because I didn't
Speaker 1: feel right. And I think you have to trust that
Speaker 1: I was really tired.
Speaker 1: I was just, you know, you just know. I don't
Speaker 1: know how. He explained, you have an instinct about your body,
Speaker 1: and you need to listen to it. So
Speaker 2: you asked for more tests?
Speaker 1: Yeah. So he did a surgical biopsy that day, and
Speaker 1: then I had to leave because my father was dying
Speaker 1: and I had to leave to go see him. And
Speaker 1: I still had just had the surgery, Didn't tell him.
Speaker 1: So it was all, you know, again, all these things
Speaker 1: come filing on top of each other.
Speaker 2: And then what was the period between you finding out
Speaker 2: and realising that you had to announce it publicly?
Speaker 1: Well, the reason I announced it publicly is because one
Speaker 1: of those, you know, national inquiry type of magazines had
Speaker 1: got wind of it. I think someone at the imaging
Speaker 1: place had contacted them and they were going to write
Speaker 1: a story, Uh, that I was dying, you know, kind
Speaker 1: of similar to what's happening now. So, um, I decided
Speaker 1: to do an article and talk about it because I
Speaker 1: didn't want my family,
Speaker 1: um, reading about it before I had a chance to
Speaker 1: tell them what was going on. So we decided to Yes,
Speaker 1: just make a clean breast of it, excuse the pun
Speaker 1: and discuss it and tell me what was going on
Speaker 1: so that there'd be no secrets or, you know, that's
Speaker 1: really how that happened.
Speaker 2: So it was not your timetable it was, for it
Speaker 2: was almost forced upon. I
Speaker 1: hadn't planned on it, but I'm actually grateful that happened
Speaker 1: because it gave me an opportunity to talk about something
Speaker 1: that was a little taboo. It was taboo to me.
Speaker 1: I mean, to think about going on television and talking
Speaker 1: about my breasts and lumps, and in the beginning it
Speaker 1: was really awkward.
Speaker 1: You know, time has gone on now. So many years
Speaker 1: have gone by that now it's quite normal.
Speaker 2: You have friends
Speaker 1: and walks, but at the time I was one of
Speaker 1: the first. I think there was another girl in show business, Jill,
Speaker 1: someone who'd gone through it before. But I was probably
Speaker 1: the first.
Speaker 1: You come out of it internationally, I think.
Speaker 2: And what's it like? I mean, you've got these two tracks. Obviously,
Speaker 2: you've got your own feelings about it and then having
Speaker 2: to deal with everyone else's feelings about it. And I
Speaker 2: see this in many people I know who have cancer,
Speaker 2: and other people's feelings can be a burden. I can't
Speaker 2: imagine what laying fame over all of that is also like,
Speaker 2: How do you deal with those two different tracks?
Speaker 1: Well, what I did and I recommend this to all
Speaker 1: women
Speaker 1: or men who are listening, who have an illness, whether
Speaker 1: it be breast cancer or whatever it is, find somebody
Speaker 1: else to do the talking to your friends, because what
Speaker 1: I found was I'd go to tell a friend and
Speaker 1: they burst into tears and you go, Oh, no, I
Speaker 1: don't need that. I need support. So I engaged a
Speaker 1: couple of girlfriends, um, to speak to my friends and
Speaker 1: be the layers of what was going on So I
Speaker 1: could just live my life
Speaker 1: and dedicate that time to meditation or doing a yoga
Speaker 1: class or going for a walk or being in nature,
Speaker 1: which is my favourite thing or being with my animals.
Speaker 1: So I didn't have to perpetually be talking about a
Speaker 1: myself and be my illness. And I think it's not healthy.
Speaker 1: It just keeps you in that sick mode, you know,
Speaker 2: and then the fame side with with strangers wanting to
Speaker 2: talk to you about it. What was that
Speaker 1: like? Well, most of those people are really positive and, uh, sensitive.
Speaker 1: There are people now again who,
Speaker 1: and I don't think it's deliberate, but they want to
Speaker 1: quote you facts about how many people have died of this.
Speaker 1: And when I know that's helpful, I really wanna or
Speaker 2: do they say I've got this treatment. If you just
Speaker 2: rub tumeric on your pulse points
Speaker 1: and all those things I listened to because I believe
Speaker 1: in natural therapies. And that's what I'm doing now, back then,
Speaker 1: I did chemotherapy and, um, didn't again. Didn't want to,
Speaker 1: but I did it. Um, But
Speaker 2: you almost like yourself out of it, didn't you?
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, I was again. Afraid.
Speaker 2: What were you so scared
Speaker 1: of? I thought that they put the needle in. I
Speaker 1: was going to die. That was just my vision. I'm
Speaker 1: going to be the
Speaker 2: first person who is meant to work the other way.
Speaker 1: Anyway, that was my I don't like
Speaker 1: medicine. I don't like those things. So they just kind
Speaker 1: of freaked me out. My mother never took an aspirin,
Speaker 1: and she was that kind of person. So I grew
Speaker 1: up in that kind of natural household.
Speaker 2: So you had a mastectomy and chemo the first time,
Speaker 2: and you write about how there were people outside your
Speaker 2: house shouting at you to try meditation.
Speaker 1: Yes. Actually, that was a good idea. I did
Speaker 2: it,
Speaker 2: uh, possess someone to come and shout about what treatment
Speaker 2: someone else should have.
Speaker 1: It's funny, isn't remember this guy pulling up in my
Speaker 1: at my gate
Speaker 1: in I think a limo and opening the limo and
Speaker 1: ringing the bell. And I had security at that time
Speaker 1: because it was my Britney Day, as I call it,
Speaker 1: and
Speaker 1: shouting out Oh, you should just do tm and all
Speaker 1: this stuff. And I remember it, actually. And
Speaker 1: I did it, actually, And it was a good thing.
Speaker 2: Like thanks for that.
Speaker 1: It wasn't really because of him, but it was something
Speaker 1: I was doing anyway. But
Speaker 2: I'm already on it.
Speaker 1: The feeling I mean, the meaning was well, meaning. Tell
Speaker 2: me about the Britney days. I love that you describe
Speaker 2: it like that. Why do you describe him as your
Speaker 2: Britney days?
Speaker 1: Well, because that was my, you know, physical and Greece.
Speaker 1: And
Speaker 1: I was I mean, it wasn't the tabloids like now.
Speaker 1: And it wasn't social media like now, But
Speaker 2: it wasn't TMZ.
Speaker 1: No, they weren't following you like that. I mean, it
Speaker 1: was a certain amount of it, but nothing like I
Speaker 1: used to get upset if they took a picture of
Speaker 1: me over the fence or something in Australia. But,
Speaker 1: um, nothing compared to the stuff they do now. But
Speaker 1: it was my big time. So that's what I call
Speaker 1: it that
Speaker 2: physical? I was just watched it again this morning. God,
Speaker 2: that was a brilliant video. But also really strange. Yeah,
Speaker 2: it starts with this sort of almost home. I was watching.
Speaker 2: I was going. This is quite homoerotic. Before I watched
Speaker 2: the end of it all These like, buff guy
Speaker 2: guys doing, you know, working out, and you and I
Speaker 2: was like, Gosh, this is so interesting. Male sexuality and
Speaker 2: women sort of ogling men is never portrayed in music videos.
Speaker 2: So it was really progressive. And you had your short
Speaker 2: hair and you had your aerobics outfit. And then they became, like,
Speaker 2: contestants on the biggest loser Cut to that. And then
Speaker 2: you were in a shower. You came back and the
Speaker 2: guys were hot again.
Speaker 2: And then the guys just walk off holding hands at
Speaker 2: the
Speaker 1: end. Gay.
Speaker 2: And it was, like, very subversive, like in that time.
Speaker 2: And you say in the book, you didn't really think
Speaker 2: anything of it. Like when you read this video treatment.
Speaker 2: Did you think Oh, this is a bit risque.
Speaker 1: The song I thought it was more risky. The video
Speaker 1: was supposed to solve that
Speaker 2: problem,
Speaker 1: and I think he did in a way because he
Speaker 1: kind of took it off in another area.
Speaker 2: And it was kind of funny.
Speaker 1: It was funny. And I have no problem. You know, lovers,
Speaker 1: lovers to me. I don't care about that. My friends
Speaker 1: were Gaiser who cared, so I thought it was funny. But,
Speaker 1: you know, I'm not 99% of the country, so I
Speaker 1: got banned in Utah, I think where I shot my concert,
Speaker 1: which was really funny. Um,
Speaker 1: but
Speaker 2: because of the gay part,
Speaker 1: No, no, just because it
Speaker 2: was too rude. The lyrics
Speaker 1: to Naughty. Yes. And I must say, I was I
Speaker 1: was freaked out about the song after I recorded it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and said to my manager again, another thing I was
Speaker 1: scared off. I think I've gone too far. I think
Speaker 1: we need to do a video about exercise to kind of,
Speaker 1: you know, take the focus off those lyrics. And then,
Speaker 1: of course, I made it even bigger.
Speaker 1: Yeah,
Speaker 1: I should have bought shares in Spandex is all I'm saying.
Speaker 1: And headbands. I was too late. Jane Fonda did it.
Speaker 2: That was that. That was the time, wasn't it? And
Speaker 2: then the beautiful ending with the twist where you go
Speaker 2: off with the big guy and you find love with
Speaker 2: him with the tennis rackets over your shoulders. I love that.
Speaker 2: So they were your Britney days, and then you didn't
Speaker 2: You didn't
Speaker 1: tell
Speaker 2: people When the cancer came back. Your sister was unwell. She,
Speaker 2: um And you were visiting her in hospital. You had
Speaker 2: a car accident and
Speaker 1: she was at home. She was at
Speaker 2: home and you ended up getting a lump on your shoulder,
Speaker 2: which you would have thought
Speaker 2: It's just from the car accident, but it turned out
Speaker 2: not to be
Speaker 1: that I don't know which came first, the chicken or
Speaker 1: the egg. But I think the I very much believe
Speaker 1: in illness and emotional attachment to and trauma to illness,
Speaker 1: which has actually been proven quite a lot. And I've
Speaker 1: always followed Louise hay, you know, familiar with the house. Yeah, and, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, emotions and illness and how they tie together
Speaker 1: very often. And stress, particularly,
Speaker 1: can be really bad, particularly with cancer. But you want
Speaker 1: to try and stay as stress free as you can.
Speaker 1: So I think all those things plus the hit
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: You've already met your second husband by then. How did
Speaker 2: you and John mate
Speaker 1: the first time? Yeah, the very first time. Uh, he
Speaker 1: was doing a talk on the Amazon rainforest because he
Speaker 1: spent 30 years in the Amazon and bringing plants and
Speaker 1: natural therapies and herbs back from the Amazon and started
Speaker 1: a company which is a fascinating book in itself. And
Speaker 1: I was interested in that. And my girlfriend, Nancy and
Speaker 1: Jim went to a health show where he was distributing
Speaker 1: his hopes and giving out samples,
Speaker 1: and they were standing in line. She thought it was
Speaker 1: for ice cream and ended up being for his herbs.
Speaker 1: And she had her mother with her, who was at
Speaker 1: the time in her eighties, and they took samples of
Speaker 1: his herbs. I think they were liquids at the time,
Speaker 1: and she went home and cleaned out a whole closet
Speaker 1: and woke up the next morning and said to Nancy,
Speaker 1: I want to go back again, meet that guy and
Speaker 1: I want more of those herbs because I felt so
Speaker 1: good so that they became friends. And then Jim ended
Speaker 1: up district being a distributor of John's products
Speaker 1: and He was doing a truck on the rainforest, and
Speaker 1: they invited me to come. Listen,
Speaker 1: so I was very impressed with him, but I had
Speaker 1: no thoughts on him. Other than that, he was really
Speaker 1: clever and very knowledgeable about the rainforest and the Amazon.
Speaker 1: And that was very interesting to me. But he's so
Speaker 1: good looking. He was Could
Speaker 2: you have had any thought?
Speaker 1: He was a businessman. I had no Oh,
Speaker 2: yeah, But he was like a hippie businessman. Like he
Speaker 2: was very grounded in nature. And babe
Speaker 1: he was. And
Speaker 2: he said he had you
Speaker 1: doing about what's it called again?
Speaker 1: What's that thing you said you were doing?
Speaker 2: Cutting grass? Oh, shipping, shipping, shipping to ship you
Speaker 1: got there. I got
Speaker 2: eventually. You know,
Speaker 1: I was slow. I was slow. So was he. He
Speaker 1: saw me. OK, this is funny. My mother used to
Speaker 1: say to me, Darling, you should marry a businessman. That
Speaker 1: was her whole thing. She
Speaker 2: was German. I love
Speaker 1: you Should know your business, man. I said, Mama, Businessman,
Speaker 1: What would I have in common with the businessman? You know,
Speaker 1: someone in the business who understands what I do. So
Speaker 1: I had No,
Speaker 1: it didn't occur to me at all. So, um, now
Speaker 1: I've lost where I was. Totally. So
Speaker 2: your mother said marry a businessman?
Speaker 1: Yeah. Now she was gone by the time I met John, unfortunately,
Speaker 1: because she would have loved him. But
Speaker 1: so when I first met him, I thought he was handsome,
Speaker 1: But I was married at that time. So, you know,
Speaker 1: I wasn't looking sideways. I was married and he thought
Speaker 1: I was just some Hollywood chick. He didn't know my music.
Speaker 1: He'd never seen Greece. He'd never
Speaker 2: seen Greece.
Speaker 1: And when you ask him, he goes. So I was
Speaker 1: in the Amazon, up up the river, in a canoe.
Speaker 1: He had no clue. So
Speaker 2: So you don't You know who I am? You couldn't
Speaker 2: even do that. That would ever be your style.
Speaker 1: That's not my soul. That's not who I am.
Speaker 1: And has
Speaker 2: he seen Greece? Still?
Speaker 1: Yes. Actually, it's a really funny story, because the first
Speaker 1: time he saw it,
Speaker 1: we were just married. And John Travolta asked us for dinner,
Speaker 1: and he has a private airport at his house, which
Speaker 1: is always his dream. He's going to have that. So
Speaker 1: we're having dinner and my husband is a pilot, too.
Speaker 1: So John said, my plane just came back. I love
Speaker 1: you guys to come see it. He just had it refurbished.
Speaker 1: So we're having dinner, and my husband mentions he's never
Speaker 1: seen Greece. And John Travolta, of course, says Where were you?
Speaker 1: And up the Amazon? As you know, Um, so we
Speaker 1: go onto the plane and Johnson, let's go into the plane,
Speaker 1: have dessert on the plane.
Speaker 1: So we go on the plane and we're sitting there
Speaker 1: and all and Greece is playing on the screen.
Speaker 2: And
Speaker 1: that was the first time he saw it with both
Speaker 1: of us on his John's plane. So is that fantastic?
Speaker 1: I mean, you couldn't make that
Speaker 2: up. And what
Speaker 1: did he think? He liked it. He loved it,
Speaker 2: he said. That's a
Speaker 1: really good movie. And then the next time he saw it,
Speaker 1: I think was that the 40th anniversary we just had
Speaker 1: on a big screen? And I must say I enjoyed
Speaker 1: it this time because it's you know, I haven't seen
Speaker 1: it on a big screen in 20 years or something,
Speaker 1: and I was able to really sit back and be
Speaker 1: detached and just watch it without critiquing myself as I
Speaker 1: usually do, and it was so much fun. It's got
Speaker 1: a lot of layers to it. Actually, it
Speaker 2: sure does have a lot of layers to it, and
Speaker 2: all the characters are. So there's a lot of films
Speaker 2: made around the time that could have been iconic. Why
Speaker 2: do you think that one was just so had such
Speaker 2: cut through?
Speaker 1: You know, I think if we knew, we would have
Speaker 1: made more. But there was a magic to it
Speaker 1: in Well, the storyline is great. The fifties is, as
Speaker 1: I was saying, is larger than life. Like a cartoon.
Speaker 1: They made everyone being there was a great energy. And
Speaker 1: the song is a great you know, We've got the
Speaker 1: original songs. Plus, um, John Farrow and Barry Gibb wrote
Speaker 1: some great songs. So
Speaker 2: what's your favorite is a
Speaker 1: winner. What's
Speaker 2: your favourite song
Speaker 1: from it?
Speaker 1: Oh, gosh, I don't know. I love you Wanna know
Speaker 1: why I love hopes? He devoted, um they're all fun there.
Speaker 1: All the songs are good, I reckon.
Speaker 2: What was the best one to sing and perform for
Speaker 1: you? Um hopes he devoted It's quite a hard song
Speaker 1: to sing, but it's a great song.
Speaker 2: So back to your husband in whom he had no
Speaker 2: romantic interest
Speaker 1: and
Speaker 2: who had no romantic interest in you. What's wrong with
Speaker 2: the two of you? How did you saving up? How
Speaker 2: did you end up in the Amazon together? Taking Iowa. Alaska.
Speaker 2: Is that how you
Speaker 1: even say Alaska?
Speaker 2: Alaska, which
Speaker 1: I didn't know I was taking. By the way, at
Speaker 1: the time, it was just a sample taste. That's why
Speaker 1: it was so interesting was meant to be. But he
Speaker 1: came to say, That's right. I went, Oh, there's so
Speaker 1: many stories. The dog story. So I gave him a dog,
Speaker 1: and then
Speaker 2: Oh,
Speaker 1: that's in there. I don't know.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So you gave him a dog, a
Speaker 1: puppy. And I didn't see him or the puppy for
Speaker 1: about seven years or something. I mean, I might see
Speaker 1: him occasionally at a charity event because he would supply
Speaker 1: his herds and his skin. Care to check the thing
Speaker 1: I started with Nancy and Jim. We have fundraisers, and
Speaker 1: he'd supply.
Speaker 1: Um, I didn't really see him. Oh, I know what happened.
Speaker 1: This is funny. I was offered
Speaker 1: to do a skin care line for one of the
Speaker 1: big drug store chains. Huge one.
Speaker 1: And I thought, Well, I don't know much about skincare,
Speaker 1: but John does. So I called him up and I said,
Speaker 1: You know, I've been offered to do this skincare line, uh,
Speaker 1: for this big chain of stores and I know you
Speaker 1: do one. Would you be interested in partnering with me?
Speaker 1: And we could use your skin care, but just re
Speaker 1: label it and all that and he goes, Why would
Speaker 1: I want to do that?
Speaker 1: And I went
Speaker 2: It's really not taking him,
Speaker 1: he says. No, it wasn't a hint, really, I said,
Speaker 1: because it's going to be big. He said, no, they're
Speaker 1: gonna want to cheapen my product, put it in plastic
Speaker 1: bottles and he, you know, at the time I was
Speaker 1: taken aback. But I really respected his
Speaker 2: integrity.
Speaker 1: So that always stayed with me, I thought. And also
Speaker 1: he said no to me. How d
Speaker 2: yeah, smart guy.
Speaker 1: So yeah, so not long after that, I was doing
Speaker 1: a concert in Florida and I called. My assistant said,
Speaker 1: Why don't you invite John Easterling? Tell him to bring
Speaker 1: his girlfriend because there's a whole other story before that,
Speaker 1: because I thought he had a girlfriend. So he came
Speaker 1: to the show. But he didn't bring his girlfriend. He
Speaker 1: bought the puppy I'd sent him, who is now a
Speaker 1: big dog and who remembered me. And John remembered me.
Speaker 1: Thank God. And that's how we kind of connected.
Speaker 1: And when he said when he saw my show and
Speaker 1: this is his quote, not mine, he said when he
Speaker 1: saw me singing he he knew I was a healer
Speaker 1: and he wanted to take me to the Amazon to
Speaker 1: meet the other healers down there that he worked with
Speaker 1: all the time. So that was his intention. So the
Speaker 1: next day he came to see me at the hotel.
Speaker 1: I was mortified. I'm sitting by the pool and my
Speaker 1: bikini and no makeup, and he turns up and I'm
Speaker 1: going Oh, no, I was like, You know, you don't
Speaker 1: want to be seen. And, uh, he said, I'd like
Speaker 1: to take you to the Amazon
Speaker 1: and meet the hell is down there and I go
Speaker 1: every June. So if you'd like to come, I'd like
Speaker 1: to take you next June
Speaker 1: so it turns out that he'd been talking to Nancy
Speaker 1: and Jim. It was her 60th birthday, so we made
Speaker 1: it her birthday trip and the four of us, we're
Speaker 1: going to go because I don't want to go by myself.
Speaker 1: I was terrified. So, um, that's what it all happened.
Speaker 2: And what's a Oscar
Speaker 1: like?
Speaker 1: It's very hard to explain.
Speaker 1: I didn't do a full on,
Speaker 1: uh, journey because it takes all night and it was
Speaker 1: all night. But I just had a reaction to this tiny,
Speaker 1: tiny amount because my body is so sensitive. But you
Speaker 1: have to read it. I couldn't relate that now.
Speaker 2: Yeah. No, it's full on. From what I understand the
Speaker 2: Oscar situation. They
Speaker 1: use it a lot in drug rehab now and for
Speaker 1: people with emotional issues. And for me, all I can
Speaker 1: say is that short experience that I had
Speaker 1: totally cleared my mind of a real dramatic issues that
Speaker 1: I've been having. So I have belief in it as
Speaker 1: a as a healing plant.
Speaker 2: You chose not to make a public when when your
Speaker 2: cancer came back after your sister died, Why is that?
Speaker 2: Is it just that there was too much going on?
Speaker 1: Well, there's some things you want to keep private. Why
Speaker 1: would I need to tell people It's not really anyone's
Speaker 1: business but mine. But
Speaker 2: this time you have decided
Speaker 1: at this time I thought, Well, I'm writing a book.
Speaker 1: I'm as well, yeah, talk about it.
Speaker 2: And how are you treating at this time and how
Speaker 2: are you feeling?
Speaker 1: Feel good. I'm doing a lot of natural therapies.
Speaker 1: I went to a wonderful place in Mexico called Hope
Speaker 1: for Cancer that does all natural therapies. And I spent
Speaker 1: three weeks. They're learning them and doing them and,
Speaker 1: yeah, making my immune system strong.
Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to no philtre candid conversations that count.
Speaker 2: You can buy Olivia's book. Don't stop believing at any
Speaker 2: good bookstore or at apple dot co forward slash mamma mia.
Speaker 2: If you're looking for what to listen to next, can
Speaker 2: I recommend my no philtre interview with another Aussie icon
Speaker 2: item bistros. We had a fascinating conversation. Um, that included
Speaker 2: a very kind of conversation about plastic surgery and Botox.
Speaker 2: Next up on no philtre. My full conversation with Serena
Speaker 2: Williams and I chat to Leigh sales about her new book.
Speaker 2: Any ordinary day. Yes. You're going to get to in
Speaker 2: a week. No. Philtre is produced by Eliza Ratliff. I'm
Speaker 2: Mia Freedman, and I will see you on mamma mia
Speaker 2: dot com dot au.