Olivia Newton-John’s devastated niece Tottie Goldsmith breaks down as she reveals harrowing details of how her aunt suffered in her final days alive: ‘She was really skinny and unwell’
Totti Goldsmith broke down in tears during an interview with A Current Affair on Tuesday as she spoke about her aunt Olivia Newton-John’s final days.
The iconic Grease star died peacefully at the age of 73 at her home in southern California on Monday, surrounded by her family and friends.
Totti, 59, revealed Olivia’s health deteriorated leading up to her death and she was ‘really skinny and unwell’, but brave until the end.
‘It’s not a shock, we’ve known how sick she’s been, especially in the last five days,’ she told host Tracy Grimshaw of her passing.
Totti then went on to reveal her heart-wrenching final moments with Olivia.
‘I couldn’t get to America in time and I wanted to say goodbye, so I asked [her husband John] if he could hold the phone up to her ear…’ she continued.
‘But he got me on FaceTime so I managed to see her.’
‘I told her all the things I needed to say,’ Tottie continued. ‘She was leaving us… but I feel like she got it.’
Tottie Goldsmith broke down on A Current Affair as she revealed her beloved aunt Olivia Newton-John suffered in her final days: ‘She was really skinny and unwell’
Tottie went on to reflect on Olivia’s decades-long battle with cancer.
‘There was one day at the Olivia Newtown John Centre and she was really skinny and unwell and I said to her, “Are you afraid of dying”, and she said, “Plonker, I’m not afraid. I’ve done more in my life that I could have ever imagined.”‘
‘She’s struggled with a lot of pain and it’s been a tough road,’ Tottie added.
‘It wasn’t just the cancer that got her. It was other complications and being in a hospital with a very susceptible immune system.’
Tottie broke down into tears when she was asked what Olivia was most proud of in life.
Without skipping a beat she answered, ‘Chloe’, referring to the daughter she shares with ex-husband Matt Lattanzi.
‘She loved that girl so much. Chloe’s doing it really tough, but she’s been amazing.’
At the end of the interview, Tottie said her family would accept Victorian premier Daniel Andrews’ offer of a state funeral to celebrate Olivia’s extraordinary life and legacy.
Heartbroken: ‘It’s not a shock, we’ve known how sick she’s been, especially the last five days,’ Totti told host Tracy Grimshaw of Olivia’s passing.
Breaking down: Totti then went on to reveal her heart-wrenching final moments with Olivia
‘I couldn’t get to America in time and I wanted to say goodbye, so I asked [her husband John] if he could hold the phone up to her ear…’ Totti continued. ‘But he got me on FaceTime so I managed to see her’
Tottie is best known for her turn in the pop group, Chantoozies, who had hits with their songs Witch Queen, He’s Gonna Step On You Again, Wanna Be Up, and Love the One You’re With in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Her father Brian Goldsmith, a renowned night club owner and restaurateur in Melbourne, died in 2020. Her mother is Olivia’s sister, Rona.
Tottie appeared with her aunt at G’day USA in LA in 2020 – where Olivia candidly spoke about being her cancer.
At the end of the interview, Totti said her family would accept Victorian premier Daniel Andrews’ offer of a state funeral to celebrate Olivia’s extraordinary life and legacy
‘Gosh, life is a gift and I’ve had an amazing life and I intend to keep going with it and I want to help other people with cancer of course,’ she told DailyMail.com in the January 2020 interview.
‘I have my wellness centre in Melbourne and I want to see an end to cancer in my lifetime so other people don’t have to suffer.’
Newton-John was first diagnosed with the disease in 1992 but announced she had overcome the cancer in 2013, the year after her Wellness Center first opened.
Newton-John spoke candidly about her positive outlook on life amid her long battle with cancer, in an interview with DailyMail.com at the G’Day USA benefit in Beverly Hills in January 2020. She is pictured with her niece Tottie
But in May 2017, she was told cancer had metastasized and spread to her bones.
Reflecting on her fight to beat the condition, she admitted: ‘I don’t see it as a battle. I don’t think about it a lot, to be honest.
‘Denial is a really good thing and I’m getting stronger and better all the time! I am doing well!…I am feeling wonderful.’
Husband John Easterling accompanied his wife Olivia at the G’Day USA event when she spoke of her denial over cancer
She also admitted that she had hope for her future.
‘I’m winning over and living with it well and that’s how I see it,’ she added.
Newton-John also reflected on her delight at still being remembered for Grease more than four decades after its release.
Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in the iconic 1978 movie Grease that catapulted her career. He was among the first to pay tribute to her on Monday
She confessed: ‘We did something very special together. That movie is still loved.’
She recalled how caring co-star John Travolta was during the filming of the musical romantic film.
Asked about her favourite memory on set, she relied: ‘His kindness to me. When there was one scene in the movie – it was my close up, when Rizzo pulls me forward in the bonfire scene – and in the middle of my take, he stopped it and came over to me and whispered in my ear: “I think you can do better.”
Newton-John famously resisted the part of Sandy in the 1978 movie Grease. She was 28 at the time and thought she was too old to play a fresh-faced high school student
‘So that’s really generous. For an actor to do that for another actor. I wasn’t as experienced as him. He was very nurturing and sweet.’
During that same event, lifelong friend Travolta praised her positive outlook on life, despite her health worries.
He said: ‘Olivia is a survivor and she’s smart and she’s got a lot of life in her and I think she looks at it from the glass half full always and that’s her beautiful, natural approach towards life and I think we all need to do that.’
He was among the first to pay tribute to her on Monday.
Olivia’s iconic sweet-to-sexy transformation was recreated for years to come in costumes and tributes
Olivia’s husband John Easterling announced the tragic news that Olivia had lost her battle with cancer on social media.
‘Dame Olivia Newton-John passed away peacefully at her ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends,’ he said in a statement.
‘We ask that everyone please respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time.
‘Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer.
‘Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, dedicated to researching plant medicine and cancer.’
Just days before her death, Olivia Newton-John posted a heartwarming photo to Instagram with her husband John Easterling
Newton-John’s husband announced her death on her Facebook page on Monday. She was 73
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