Exclusive: Olivia Newton-John’s widower says he continues to ‘speak to her out loud’

Olivia Newton-John’s daughter and widower have together opened up to Hoda Kotb about their grief nearly six months after her death at age 73.

“When do you feel her the most now?” Hoda asked John Easterling, the husband of the late “Grease” star.

“Late at night, early in the morning,” he said, getting emotional. “And then, you know, I mean, I’ll just be walking around the house, or throwing the ball for the dogs and just speak to her out loud.

“A guy I was flying with said, ‘You know, John, when you’re lucky enough to have found your true soul mate, and you share a heart, when one passes, the other has the obligation to live life for both.’ And that was very empowering and very powerful for me, and, you know, and gave a way forward.”

Newton-John’s daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, also joined Easterling in conversation with Hoda for their first TV interview since her death, airing in full Friday, Feb. 17, on TODAY.

Newton-John, who had been treated multiple times for breast cancer, died in August 2022, leaving behind Easterling and Lattanzi, whom she shared with ex-husband Matt Lattanzi.

Since Newton-John’s death, Easterling has publicly mourned her loss, honoring her on what would’ve been her 74th birthday last September and talking about the bond they shared.

“Olivia, Our love for each other transcends our understanding,” he wrote on her Instagram page days after she died.

“Every day we expressed our gratitude for this love that could be so deep, so real, so natural. We never had to ‘work’ on it. We were in awe of this great mystery and accepted the experience of our love as past, present and forever.”

Newton-John and Easterling married in June 2008. They met in the early 1990s, according to People, but didn’t start dating until about 15 years after that.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com