Olivia Newton-John was long known for her role in Grease, but there was so much more to her career — and life — than being Sandy.For one thing, Olivia was a mother to one daughter, who she was very close with throughout her life. She welcomed daughter Chloe with then-husband Matt Lattanzi, whom she was married to from 1984 to 1995.And while their divorce was a topic of conversation at the time, it wasn't exactly headline news that Olivia's soon-to-be-ex had met someone else while they were still together. Even Newton-John's Wikipedia page simply suggests the two drifted apart, primarily due to differences in their "spiritual interests."Yet there's another factor that Wikipedia is reluctant to acknowledge; the woman matt married two years after separating from Olivia, but whom he'd met while they were together.
Matt Lattanzi Married His Daughter's Babysitter
As People recounted, Matt Lattanzi and Olivia Newton-John met on the set of Xanadu, when Matt (a dancer) was 20. Olivia was 31 at the time. Their daughter was born in 1986, and when she was seven, the couple hired a babysitter.
Cindy Jessup was 23 when she met Olivia and Matt and their daughter, points out Radar Online, and she "ended up forging a connection with Lattanzi."
The description of Olivia's then-babysitter connecting with her then-husband is almost painful to read, given that their connection preceded Olivia and Matt's divorce. However, it might be Olivia's own perceptions of the dissolution of her marriage that colored the reporting of Matt's apparent affair.
Olivia Newton-John Never Seemed Bitter About The Divorce
To add insult to injury, it seemed that Olivia didn't learn about her husband's relationship with their babysitter until Lattanzi was "called out" during a cancer charity bike ride, notes Radar Online.
Even worse, at the time Olivia and Matt separated, Newton-John had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was undergoing treatment.
But as Radar Online summed up, Olivia reportedly "refused to be bitter." People's 2000 interview with Olivia seemed to suggest the same.
When she and the star sat down to lunch at a restaurant in Malibu, Jill Smolowe wrote, Olivia appeared to pray before beginning her meal, and said that she was "thanking the food and thanking the people who prepared the food."
At the time, Olivia also gushed about her then-boyfriend, Patrick McDermott, who she dated off and on for nine years. Though Patrick later disappeared during a fishing trip, never to be found, in 2000, the pair seemed adorably happy together.
Despite her happiness at the time, Olivia still refused to discuss her divorce from Matt, saying, "I don’t think that’s anyone’s business except ours."
However, it was revealed that the two attended couples counseling, before their divorce, which Wikipedia states was in 1995 but People suggests was finalized in 1996.
By 1997, Matt Lattanzi was remarried to Cindy Jessup, and they remained married until 2007.
Olivia's Ex-Husband's Ex-Wife Paid Tribute To The Star
Though she was largely blamed for Olivia and Matt's ultimate divorce, and it's hard to say she didn't factor in given the timelines, Cindy Jessup, now Cindy Fisher, only had nice things to say about Olivia upon her passing.
The way that Fisher described the late actress, it seemed as if there were no hard feelings regarding their earlier relationship. Cindy stated that, "She was such a force for goodness, always helping others."
Daily Mail reached out to Fisher for comments after Newton-John's passing and described that Cindy married a surgeon and had two children (she and Matt did not have children together) after her marriage to Matt ended.
The publication further elaborated that, according to an "unnamed friend" of the former couple, said that there was "no romance" between Cindy and Matt before he divorced Olivia.
Further, Daily Mail noted that Olivia had "embraced [Cindy's] marriage to Lattanzi despite her personal heartache." Matt was also quoted as saying he couldn't have hoped for a better outcome with his second marriage.
Olivia, too, did move on and didn't appear to hold a grudge. She married John Easterling in 2008, and they were married at the time of her passing. Matt Lattanzi married a third wife, who also posted a tribute to Olivia on social media after hearing the news.