Olivia Newton-John’s husband John Easterling has shared a heartfelt memory of the late singer to mark her first birthday since her death.
Olivia died last month after a brave and public decades-long battle with cancer in which she was diagnosed three times in 1992, 2013 and, for a final time, in 2017.
On Monday – what would have been her 74th birthday – John, 70, shared a beautiful photo of the pair via her Instagram account and shared the story of their very first trip to The Bahamas.
It was their first trip as a couple to celebrate Olivia’s birthday.
‘I remember the first birthday when we were together and I took Olivia on a week-long adventure in the Out Islands of The Bahamas surrounded by a beautiful, peaceful, spectacular turquoise water,’ he recalled.
John added that the couple, who married in 2008, stayed in a secluded, private house with ‘no roads’ and had to travel everywhere by boat.
‘There are so many islands there [that] you almost always have an island in sight when you’re out on your boat,” he continued.
‘It was private, it was wonderful, and we would take the boat to uninhabited islands and beach it and just explore – just the two of us.’
The Amazon Herb Company founder then recalled their day trip up to Great Guana Cay, where the wind began picking up as they returned.
There was suddenly ‘no visibility’ as he explained the clouds started ‘rolling in’ and the waters became ‘choppy’.
‘Olivia got behind me holding tight as I was navigating this 23-foot-runabout with a center consul,’ John recounted. ‘The only instrument was a magnetic compass.’
‘But, as quickly as the storm started, the winds died down, the rain stopped, the sun poked through and the seas turned back to that beautiful turquoise.’
John said dolphins then began jumping out of the water near the boat as a rainbow appeared on the horizon.
‘Oliva looked at me like I was a superhero and I knew it was mostly blind faith and dumb luck,’ he shared.
‘As the dolphins led us over the gorgeous aqua water, under the rainbow towards the lighthouse, we both recognized the fingerprints of the supernatural were all over this – and that’s the way we lived our life.’
John concluded his post: ‘Every day with Olivia there was a hint of magic and [an] everyday day with Olivia was a bit of the supernatural. Happy Birthday Honey – I love you!’
It comes after Olivia’s daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, announced she’d teamed up with her cousin Tottie Goldsmith to endorse the Walk for Wellness in her late mother’s honour.
Chloe, 36, encouraged fans to participate in the fundraiser, which will raise funds for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness Centre.
‘I am so grateful and filled with joy to be working with my beautiful cousin @tottie_goldsmith,’ she wrote in the caption.
‘I want to continue to carry the torch for my mama. Her dream was for kinder wholistic treatments for cancer, and to finally put an end to all the suffering cancer causes for countless beings around the planet,’ she went on.
Chloe added: ‘I love you mama. I miss you every day. And I feel you wrapped around me every moment guiding my every move. Please share this with as many people as possible. Sending you all oceans of love. Chloe’.
Olivia died peacefully in her home in Southern California on August 8, surrounded by family and friends.
Chloe made headlines earlier this month when she revealed she had married her fiancé James Driscoll ‘years ago’ in a secret ceremony officiated by her late mother.
The actress shared a never-before-seen video to Instagram earlier this week of the private ceremony which took place in The Bahamas.