Patrick McDermott: Podcast claims Olivia Newton-John's ex ‘died at sea’ after years of 'fake death' rumors
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Almost two decades have passed since Olivia Newton-John's former boyfriend, Patrick McDermott, went missing. However, theories surrounding his disappearance have gained traction over the years, and now a new podcast has claimed that McDermott is actually dead.
Besides, ‘Pseudocide: The Disappearance of Patrick McDermott’ also asserted that the South Korea-born cameraman did not fake his death to avoid paying huge amounts in debts. It has been said that McDermott was in $30,000 debt and had even declared himself bankrupt. But before any action was taken, he at the age of 48 went missing after going for a fishing trip on the Freedom boat off the coast of Los Angeles with 22 others in June 2005.
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After Olivia Newton-John’s death WILD theories about ‘vanished’ Patrick McDermott resurface
Since then, numerous wild theories have circulated, including some claiming he was seen in Mexico despite officials presumptions at the time that McDermott died after falling into the sea. FEMAIL reported that “in 2016, Spanish media quoted locals from the town who said Patrick was there and wanted 'to be left alone'. Other locals were quoted as saying they often saw Patrick running on the beach, and that he was a "classic hippie who had straggly hair and frequented the local bars and cafes.”
However, when podcast hosts Poppy Damon and Alice Fiennes, cross-checked with the witnesses, they reportedly found nothing substantial. They also went on to interview a Canadian man named Wes Stobbe, who was mistaken as McDermott. Not just that, the National Enquirer even published a story in November 2017 with the title, '12 Year Mystery Solved!'
Stobbe reportedly told the podcasters, “Well, I don't look like him but I guess some people think I do. I just had to laugh. I just burst out into laughter,” before noting, “I kind of felt sorry maybe for some of the family... that might be clinging to some faint hope that he might be found alive.”
The presenters told FEMAIL, “So many people thought they’d seen Patrick in Mexico that at first we thought there could well be some substance to the rumours.” But soon they learned the truth as they revealed, “We were never able to get to the bottom of this discrepancy. Why were they quoted with more certainty before? Did their recollections change over time or was something darker at play?”
Damon and Fiennes also explained, “'Unsolved mysteries are always fascinating - you can project all kinds of bizarre and fantastical theories into the blank space. We even read one false theory that suggested Patrick was paid to go out with Olivia Newton John, and they were never really together!” before adding, “In the faked-death version of the story, Patrick is a fraud mastermind. The real answer to the mystery – that he died at sea – is comparatively simple, and incredibly tragic.”
This new update comes months after Newton-John breathed her last in August 2022. She was suffering from breast cancer. She and McDermott reportedly started dating in 1995 and continued their inconsistent affair for nine years. It has been reported that before his missing he even sent the ‘Two of a Kind’ actress a “heartfelt note” and some roses.
“The note told her that he'd always loved her, always will love her. But they had been having a lot of problems. Patrick was backing out of the relationship because he didn't like Hollywood - he didn't like what he was doing,” the Daily Mail reported.
Besides, Newton-John had also addressed McDermott’s case a few times. In 2009, she had reportedly stated, “I don't think I will ever really be at peace with it. I think there will always be a question mark.”
Then in 2016, she had added, “He was lost at sea, and nobody really knows what happened. It's human to wonder. Because whenever you go through difficult times, there's always those concerns. Those are the things in life you have to accept and let go. Of course questions always come up and that's human. But you know, I live on.”