Olivia Newton-John’s first marriage ended in heartbreak when her husband ran away with the couple’s young babysitter while the singer battled breast cancer.
Dancer Matt Lattanzi split from Newton-John after he was confronted about his “very close” relationship with Cindy Jessup, then 23, during a bike ride for a cancer charity.
The Australian legend divorced him in 1995 and Lattanzi, then 40, married his young lover two years later – but Newton-John refused, saying he was bitter about the split.
“She’s delighted,” a friend insisted to reporters at the time of the wedding.
“It looks bad because Cindy babysat his daughter a lot and she was a friend of his and Olivia — but there was no romance back then.”
Olivia Newton-John’s first marriage ended in heartbreak when husband Matt Lattanzi (right) ran away with the couple’s young babysitter Cindy Jessup (left) while the singer battled breast cancer
Newton-John married American Lattanzi – 11 years her junior – after the couple met on the set of Xanadu in 1980, when she was 32 and he was 21.
Despite the age difference, they had instant chemistry, Newton-John revealed, and dated for four years before marrying in 1984 and having daughter Chloe in 1986.
But the marriage fell apart after the singer was diagnosed with cancer in 1992, and she put her career on hold to focus on her recovery.
The couple left their home in Malibu, California to move to the tranquility of their farm near idyllic Byron Bay in northern NSW, but the move ultimately destroyed their marriage.
“When I had breast cancer I thought that was it,” she admitted to the Chron in 2005.
“I went to my farm near Byron Bay and seriously considered retiring.”
Newton-John married American Lattanzi – 11 years her junior – after the couple met on the set of Xanadu in 1980, when she was 32 and he was 21
Lattanzi starred on Australian soap opera Paradise Beach in 1993 when the busy couple hired Jessup to look after Chloe and she quickly became part of the family.
Jessup cycled from Sydney to Perth in 1994 in aid of Newton-John’s charity, which was supported on the three-month journey by the singer and her husband.
But Newton-John began to have doubts about Jessup and Lattanzi’s relationship – and reportedly confronted him in an agonizing showdown.
The argument led to Lattanzi moving in with Jessup and divorcing the singer in 1995 before marrying his former babysitter in 1997 when he was 40 and she was 28.
“I’m so happy,” he said at the time. “I couldn’t ask for a better result.”
Olivia Newton-John and Matt Lattanzi hired Cindy Jessup (left) to look after daughter Chloe and she quickly became part of the family
Newton-John continued to blame her battle with cancer for the inevitable end of her marriage, rather than her husband’s love of babysitting.
“I think our marriage would have ended eventually, but because of cancer it happened sooner, which was good,” she told the Chron.
“It was very painful, but we never argued.
“We tried to stay friendly because we have a child and we made a pact that she was the most important thing in our lives and that we would never fight over her.
“What happened between us was between us and we wouldn’t let it affect her.”
She added: “Divorce is never okay. Everyone wants the happy ending and the white picket fence, especially me.
Olivia Newton-John continued to blame her battle with cancer for the inevitable end of her marriage, rather than husband Matt Lattanzi’s love for their babysitter
“My own parents divorced when I was 10, and maybe that’s why I kept delaying marriage.
“When I got married I wanted it to last forever, but it wasn’t to be.”
It wasn’t to last long for Jessup and Lattanzi either, as the couple split in 2007 after 10 years of marriage.
Jessup’s acting career was also short and uneventful, appearing in the little-known hour-long videos Prescription for Peril in 1999 and Tied Up All Night in 2000.
Lattanzi’s career, which included appearing in 1982’s Grease 2 with Michelle Pfeiffer, the flop follow-up to Newton-John and John Travolta’s worldwide hit original, also came to a halt following his split from Newton-John.
After his stay in Paradise Beach in 1993 he never worked on screen again and is now 63 years old, remarried and living in Oregon, USA.
His third wife, Michelle, was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2014 but is in remission and the couple now run the 115-acre medicinal cannabis farm Laughing Dog.
Matt Lattazni, seen here with daughter Chloe, now runs a cannabis farm in Oregon with his third wife Michelle, who was also diagnosed with cancer in 2014
Michelle Lattanzi paid tribute to her husband’s ex-wife on social media on Tuesday and said the world had lost an icon.
“Today we lost one of the greats of the world, Olivia Newton-John,” she posted on behalf of the couple.
“Matt and I are so overwhelmed by the love and gratitude shared by friends, family and a deeply loving community of fans who will all miss Olivia’s presence in this world.
“I have heard truly beautiful stories and memories from people near and far and I honor in each of you where those feelings and memories come from.
“Nothing will replace the icon we have lost but her legacy is alive and well in our hearts and memories, as are her contributions to our global culture, her beloved daughter Chloe Lattanzi and her cancer research and wellness center in Melbourne.
“Please honor your sadness and then celebrate the joy that Olivia’s heart and life’s work have brought to our world.
‘Send all kinds of love.’