MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CELEBRITY NEWS

Cliff Richard pays tribute to his 'soulmate' Olivia Newton-John: 'She was gorgeous, had a heart of Gold'

Richard and Olivia had been close friends for many years and have also worked together on many occasions

Cliff Richard paid tribute to Dame Olivia Newton-John after she passed away at the age of 73. The two musicians had been close friends for many years, and Richard had previously written in his memoir that she was his "soulmate."

The mother-of-one passed away "peacefully" on Monday, August 8, in the company of her family, according to her husband, John Easterling. Newton-John had endured 30 years of breast cancer and through her Olivia Newton-John foundation, she had spent years assisting others who had been diagnosed with the condition. Richard, 81, praised her "upbeat" outlook on life.

READ MORE

Inside Olivia Newton-John's turbulent love life: From 'first love' Ian Turpie to a 'long breakup' with Lee Kramer

Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta had amazing chemistry, but here's why they never hooked up

Richard admitted that he never thought he'd be writing a commemoration for Newton-John barely three weeks after their last phone conversation. He acknowledged in a social media post that he was "at a loss as to what to say."

Richard stated that "death is a vicious enemy and all of us will be taken by him. But all us are not taken by him at the same time and so while Olivia remains in our minds and memories, she remains very much alive!!"

Richard remarked, "How could we not love her?" as he identified himself as "just one of an army of lucky people who knew and loved her. She was gorgeous, gifted and had a heart of Gold." He added, "Also, a bunch of Records that were Gold, but her Golden Heart is is her legacy to us."

Richard described how Newton-John "put her career on hold for years" after receiving her initial breast cancer diagnosis. "Why? Because she wanted to inspire other sufferers to do as she did… fight the ugly disease, although she said in one interview that she wasn’t in a battle with cancer just that she had something she simply wanted to get rid of!" he wrote.

Richard continued, "Olivia always had an up-beat approach to life. Only three weeks ago I was on the phone to her and she was her bright positive self and I never thought for one moment that I would be writing this and acknowledging her death."

Richard, who claimed to "hate" the word "death," he said: "From now on I will only believe that our gorgeous Olivia simply stopped living. I will miss her. The world will miss her, so let’s all keep her alive in our hearts and memories."

"God bless you Livvy. Rest in Peace... Cliff xxx," he concluded his final message to his longtime close friend. Richard and Newton-John have worked together musically on numerous occasions throughout the years. The two have a close friendship and have even shared stage kisses while performing their duets.

Regarding Richard's declaration in his memoir that they were "never an item," he did acknowledge being "in love" with her at one point. However, Newton-John was engaged to Richard's bandmate from The Shadows, Bruce Welch, when they first met in 1970. Along with Richard, who had a special bond with the actress, Dolly Parton also paid tribute to Newton-John by expressing on social media that she had also lost her "special friend."