Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta had amazing chemistry, but here's why they never hooked up
Olivia Newton-John, who died on August 8 after a prolonged battle with cancer, was famously paired with John Travolta in their 1978 musical comedy, ‘Grease’, and looking at their fierce chemistry over the years, many wondered if the two ever dated in real life.
However, breaking the hearts of their loyal fans, Olivia in her 2019 book called ‘Don't Stop Believin’ revealed the reason why they could not ever get together while also detailing the attraction she had towards her ‘Grease’ co-star Travolta. The duo became the talk of the town when they portrayed the role of Danny Zuko and Australian transfer student Sandy Olsson. Olivia successfully beat her cancer thrice but succumbed to the deadly disease for the fourth time after cancer spread to her bones. She died at 73.
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Did Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta ever date?
A viral picture of the Olivia and Travolta kissing at a 'Grease' party in 1978 got people thinking if the two were dating. In her 2019 book, Olivia spoke about their crackling chemistry revealing, “John came out to meet me. Our eyes met. When we walked inside the room together, it was magic, and everyone saw it. They couldn't deny this kind of chemistry." She added, “I had great love and support from him and the feeling was mutual. I would be forever grateful for his concern” while talking about a scene where Travolta apparently helped her out, reported the Daily Mail.
It was Travolta who recommended Olivia for her role in ‘Grease’. In the book, Olivia shared she was keen to set the record straight about the dating rumors. ”On the Grease set, he would tell me. 'Liv, it's every guy's dream to have you as his girlfriend.' Yes, we really liked each other and there was an attraction, but we would never date because we were both involved with other people at the time and both of us have a loyalty streak that runs deep.”
Travolta too remembered, “It almost happened between us a few times, but it didn't. Sometimes life just offers you the wrong timing. We had to leave it as dear friends.”
For the unversed, Olivia was in a relationship multiple times before marrying John Easterling in 2008, She earlier tied the knot to Matt Lattanzi, to whom she was married between 1984 until 1995. John Travolta, on the other hand, married Kelly Preston in 1991. The latter died in July 2020 after having secretly battled breast cancer for two years.
‘It might have been a real disaster had we decided to date’
Olivia, during her appearance on No Filter podcast in 2018, spoke about why she couldn't date Travolta during ‘Grease’ filming and how it then helped with their unmissable chemistry on screen. “I think it was good, because I think it kept the tension there and the chemistry. It might have been a real disaster had we decided to date or we had a falling out or something”, said Olivia.
“We were both with other people when we were filming and I think, respectfully, it just didn’t happen,” she explained, “So I think it was just as well that it didn’t happen. But we’re still great friends."