John Easterling has spent the past year finding light in the darkness.
With losing wife Olivia Newton-John to breast cancer at age 73 last August, “Things aren’t easy,” he says, “but you always have to just dig. Olivia was able to never lose sight of the good things. Love is everywhere.”
An herbalist and naturopathic entrepreneur, Easterling, 71, traveled to his and Newton-John’s “special place” in Peru this past June to hold a private ceremony with her ashes at the spot where they said “I do,” commemorating what would have been their 15th wedding anniversary.
The trip gave him perspective: “It lightened my heart and created a very strong focus forward. I had 15 years with this extraordinary human being. That experience itself is worth a lifetime.”
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While grieving his wife, Easterling holds tight to the memories they made together. Before they met, he had never even seen the pop star’s hit film Grease — though Newton-John would rectify that years later during a movie night on John Travolta’s private jet.
Singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur, dancer and activist Olivia Newton-John is photographed with husband John Easterling at their home on April 6, 2018 in Santa Barbara, California
John Easterling and Olivia Newton-John in April 2018. DENISE TRUSCELLO/CONTOUR BY GETTY
Back in the mid-2000s the two were both working with an environmental nonprofit when Newton-John invited Easterling — who was then living in Florida — to her show in Miami. “She walked out onstage singing ‘Grace and Gratitude,’ and people around me were crying,” he recalls. “It hit me straight in the heart: She’s a healer.”
The two, who both adored animals and the outdoors, soon fell deeply in love with one another. During their years together they made a promise. “The commitment Olivia and I had was that we would love each other forever or until the end of time, whichever came last,” says Easterling. “We’re still in that time frame.”
John Easterling and Olivia Newton-John in October 2019. RODIN ECKENROTH/GETTY
At the home they shared in Santa Ynez, California, he keeps a memory table with his wife’s favorite photos and mementos. “There’s no replacing her,” he says.
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These days, he spends his time working with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund to continue life-saving cancer research surrounding the efficacy of medicinal plants in her honor. Soon he’ll join stepdaughter Chloe Lattanzi at Olivia’s Walk for Wellness in Melbourne to help raise funds for the foundation and her Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre.
“Things have shifted, but we have her,” he says. “We have the best of her to drive us forward.”
Chloe Lattanzi and John Easterling photographed at John and Olivia’s ranch home in Santa Ynez, CA, on August 1, 2023.
John Easterling and Chloe Lattanzi for PEOPLE in August 2023. ELIZABETH WEINBERG
For more on Olivia Newton-John’s final days and lasting legacy, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE out Friday.
