A new biography discloses Olivia Newton-John’s firm conviction that her intermittent boyfriend, Patrick McDermott, either drowned or was killed during his enigmatic disappearance 21 years ago off the Los Angeles coast.
Insights from Close Friends
Matthew Hild explores McDermott’s 2005 vanishing in his upcoming book, A Little More Love: The Life and Legacy of Olivia Newton-John, set for release on Thursday. Interviews with Newton-John’s friends and colleagues reveal her true thoughts on the matter.
Musician Liona Boyd, a friend and collaborator, shared, “She thought he’d been killed.” Boyd added, “She thought he drowned.” She dismissed rumors of sightings, noting Newton-John’s response: “No, I don’t believe that.”
Relationship Timeline
Newton-John started dating McDermott soon after her 1995 divorce from actor Matt Lattanzi. She described their bond as “on-again, off-again” in her 2018 memoir. At the time of his disappearance during a June 2005 overnight fishing trip, the couple was “off-again.”
Persistent Rumors and Financial Struggles
Speculation swirled around the 48-year-old cameraman, including claims he staged his exit to Mexico due to financial woes. Foreign correspondent Louise Pennell noted in 2005, “Whether he had financial difficulties and staged his disappearance, whether it was a murder or an abduction, no one seems to know.”
Pennell highlighted McDermott’s complaints to the fishing crew about alimony issues with his ex-wife, actress Yvette Nipar, from whom he divorced in 1993. The pair shared a son, Chance.
Investigator John Nazarian claimed in 2016 to have sighted McDermott in Mexico with a woman described as having a German accent. “I spoke to people there,” Nazarian stated.
Official Probes and Newton-John’s Response
Newton-John consulted security expert Gavin de Becker, who dispatched private investigators to Mexico, but they found no trace. The U.S. Coast Guard determined McDermott was likely “lost at sea” after probes concluded in 2008.
In her first public comment a year later, Newton-John told Australian Women’s Weekly, “I think there will always be a question mark … I don’t think I will ever really be at peace with it.”
During a 2016 60 Minutes interview, she elaborated, “He was lost at sea, and nobody really knows what happened.” She reflected, “It’s human to wonder. But you know, those are the things in life you have to accept and let go.”
Newton-John later married businessman John Easterling in 2008 and remained with him until her death in August 2022 at age 73, after a 30-year battle with breast cancer.
