{"id":2005,"date":"2026-05-13T18:15:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T18:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/what-olivia-newton-john-really-thought-happened-to-partner-after-his-mysterious-disappearance-book\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T18:15:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T18:15:16","slug":"what-olivia-newton-john-really-thought-happened-to-partner-after-his-mysterious-disappearance-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/what-olivia-newton-john-really-thought-happened-to-partner-after-his-mysterious-disappearance-book\/","title":{"rendered":"What Olivia Newton-John really thought happened to partner after his mysterious disappearance: book"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/127657338.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Olivia Newton-John thought her ex-boyfriend, Patrick McDermott, was either \u201ckilled\u201d or \u201cdrowned\u201d when he <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/08\/09\/olivia-newton-john-never-at-peace-after-disappearance-of-ex\/\">went missing off the coast of Los Angeles<\/a> 21 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew Hild covers the cameraman\u2019s mysterious 2005 disappearance in his new biography on the late \u201cGrease\u201d star, \u201c<a data-aps-asc-tag=\"pagesix-20\" data-aps-asin=\"B0FL2R533X\" data-wrapped-template=\"https:\/\/r.pagesixlink.com?btn_ref=org-282f0dd399864b44&amp;btn_url\" href=\"https:\/\/r.pagesixlink.com?btn_ref=org-282f0dd399864b44&amp;btn_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FLittle-More-Love-Legacy-Newton-John%2Fdp%2FB0FL2R533X%3Ftag%3Dpagesix-20%26asc_refurl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fpagesix.com%2F2026%2F05%2F13%2Fcelebrity-news%2Fwhat-olivia-newton-john-really-thought-happened-to-partner-after-his-mysterious-disappearance-book%2F%26asc_source%3Dweb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-nyp-affiliate=\"true\">A Little More Love: The Life and Legacy of Olivia Newton-John<\/a>,\u201d which comes out Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>The writer interviewed many of Newton-John\u2019s friends and colleagues for the book, and one told Hild what the four-time Grammy winner really believed happened to her \u201con-again, off-again\u201d partner.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Writer Matthew Hild discusses what Olivia Newton-John really thought happened to her missing ex-boyfriend Patrick McDermott in his new biography on the late singer and actress, \u201cA Little More Love\u201d (pictured here). <span class=\"credit\">Bloomsbury Academic<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Newton-John\u2019s friend said the \u201cGrease\u201d star thought McDermott (seen here with Newton-John and her daughter, Chloe) was either \u201ckilled\u201d or \u201cdrowned\u201d when he went missing off the coast of California in 2005. <span class=\"credit\">FilmMagic<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cShe thought he\u2019d been killed,\u201d Newton-John\u2019s friend and collaborator Liona Boyd told Hild, <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/olivia-newton-john-revealed-new-book-exclusive-11973344\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">per People<\/a>. \u201cShe thought he drowned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Boyd added, \u201cShe didn\u2019t believe all the rumors about the sightings in Mexico. She said, \u2018No, I don\u2019t believe that.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Newton-John began dating McDermott shortly after her divorce from her first husband, actor Matt Lattanzi, in 1995.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cTwo of a Kind\u201d star described the pair\u2019s relationship as \u201con-again, off-again\u201d in her 2018 memoir and revealed she and McDermott were \u201coff-again\u201d at the time of his disappearance during an overnight fishing trip in June 2005.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cShe thought he\u2019d been killed,\u201d Liona Boyd told Hild of Newton-John (pictured here with McDermott in January 2005). \u201cShe thought he drowned.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">WireImage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cShe didn\u2019t believe all the rumors about the sightings in Mexico,\u201d Boyd added. \u201cShe said, \u2018No, I don\u2019t believe that.&#8217;\u201d <span class=\"credit\">WireImage for Tourism Australia<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Rumors began to swirl about what may have really happened to the 48-year-old McDermott, including speculation that he \u201cstaged his disappearance\u201d and ran away to Mexico amid money problems.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhether he had financial difficulties and staged his disappearance, whether it was a murder or an abduction, no one seems to know,\u201d Louise Pennell, a foreign correspondent for Seven Network Australia, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/id\/wbna9068728\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told NBC News<\/a> in 2005.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we do know is that there were some problems with finances.\u00a0Patrick McDermott, on the fishing boat,\u00a0told the crew that he had some alimony troubles with his ex-wife, who is an actress,\u201d Pennell added. \u201cAs far as I know, he complained about financial troubles with her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McDermott had divorced actress\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.islapedia.com\/index.php?title=McDERMOTT,_Patrick\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"\/>Yvette Nipar\u00a0in June 1993. The former couple shared one child, a son named Chance.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Newton-John (pictured here in February 2017) dated McDermott on and off from around 1996 until his disappearance in 2005. <span class=\"credit\">LatinContent via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The Australian icon (seen here in February 2021) and McDermott first got together shortly after her 1995 divorce from Matt Lattanzi.  <span class=\"credit\">G&#8217;Day USA via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Another person, investigator John Nazarian, claimed he saw the missing photographer with a woman in Mexico after he was reported missing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI spoke to people there,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2016\/03\/21\/olivia-newton-johns-missing-ex-reportedly-living-in-mexico\/\">Nazarian said in 2016<\/a>. \u201cThe girl he was traveling with was described as having a German accent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But according to Hild\u2019s upcoming book, Newton-John approached a security expert named Gavin de Becker, who sent private investigators down to Mexico in search of her missing ex to no avail.<\/p>\n<p>The US Coast Guard concluded McDermott was likely \u201clost at sea\u201d following investigations that ended in 2008.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Newton-John (pictured here with her daughter, Chloe) reportedly had a security expert send private investigators down to Mexico to search for McDermott after his disappearance. <span class=\"credit\">chloelattanziofficial\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cI think there will always be a question mark,\u201d Newton-John (seen here in September 2018) said in 2009 of McDermott\u2019s disappearance. \u201cI don\u2019t think I will ever really be at peace with it.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">WireImage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Newton-John publicly addressed her ex\u2019s disappearance for the first time one year after the Coast Guard\u2019s findings were released.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think there will always be a question mark \u2026 I don\u2019t think I will ever really be at peace with it,\u201d she <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/08\/08\/the-mystery-surrounding-olivia-newton-johns-ex-patrick-mcdermott\/\">told the Australian outlet Women\u2019s Weekly<\/a> in 2009.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cI Honestly Love You\u201d singer addressed McDermott\u2019s disappearance further during an interview with Australia\u2019s \u201c60 Minutes\u201d in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was lost at sea, and nobody really knows what happened,\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Newton-John went on to marry John Easterling (pictured here together in January 2009) in 2008. <span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The \u201cI Honestly Love You\u201d singer (seen here in February 2020) passed away from breast cancer at the age of 73 in August 2022. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s human to wonder. But you know, those are the things in life you have to accept and let go,\u201d Newton-John continued. \u201cBecause whenever you go through difficult times, there are always those concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Australian icon ultimately moved on and married her third husband, businessman John Easterling, in 2008 amid the mystery of McDermott\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n<p>Newton-John and Easterling were still married when she <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2022\/08\/08\/olivia-newton-john-dead-at-73\/\">died in August 2022 at the age of 73<\/a> following a 30-year battle with breast cancer.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/05\/13\/celebrity-news\/what-olivia-newton-john-really-thought-happened-to-partner-after-his-mysterious-disappearance-book\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Olivia Newton-John thought her ex-boyfriend, Patrick McDermott, was either \u201ckilled\u201d or \u201cdrowned\u201d when he went<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/127657338.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}