Olivia Newton-John believed her former boyfriend, Patrick McDermott, was either killed or drowned during his disappearance off the Los Angeles coast 21 years ago. A new biography, A Little More Love: The Life and Legacy of Olivia Newton-John by Matthew Hild, releasing Thursday, uncovers her true thoughts after decades of speculation.
The 2005 Disappearance
McDermott vanished during an overnight fishing trip in June 2005. The 48-year-old cameraman was in an “on-again, off-again” relationship with Newton-John at the time, though they were “off-again.” The U.S. Coast Guard concluded in 2008 that he was likely lost at sea.
Newton-John’s Private Convictions
Liona Boyd, a friend and collaborator of the four-time Grammy winner, revealed Newton-John’s stance. “She thought he’d been killed,” Boyd stated. “She thought he drowned.”
Boyd added that Newton-John dismissed rumors of sightings in Mexico. “She said, ‘No, I don’t believe that,’” Boyd recounted.
Relationship and Rumors
Newton-John began dating McDermott shortly after her 1995 divorce from actor Matt Lattanzi. Speculation swirled that McDermott staged his disappearance due to financial troubles, including alimony payments to his ex-wife, actress Yvette Nipar, from whom he divorced in 1993. The couple shared a son, Chance.
Investigator John Nazarian claimed in 2016 to have information placing McDermott in Mexico with a woman described as having a German accent. However, Newton-John consulted security expert Gavin de Becker, who dispatched private investigators to Mexico but found no trace.
Public Reflections
In 2009, Newton-John addressed the mystery publicly for the first time. “I think there will always be a question mark … I don’t think I will ever really be at peace with it,” she said.
During a 2016 interview, she elaborated: “He was lost at sea, and nobody really knows what happened. It’s human to wonder. But you know, those are the things in life you have to accept and let go.”
Newton-John moved forward, marrying businessman John Easterling in 2008. She passed away in August 2022 at age 73 after a 30-year battle with breast cancer.
