John Travolta Pays Tribute To Olivia Newton-John — Inside Their Decades-Long Relationship
A touching tribute.
DFree | Shutterstock | Twitter Following the passing of actress Olivia Newton-John, who lost her battle with breast cancer at the age of 73, her co-star, John Travolta took to social media to pen a touching tribute.
Newton-John and Travolta both famously starred in the 1978 musical film "Grease," where they played the iconic characters of Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson, respectively. The film became an instant classic, garnering $366 million following its release at the box office.
“My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better,” Travolta wrote in the tribute post. “Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John!”
Many fans of both the film and Newton-John and Travolta, theorized that the two had to have dated sometime during the years after the release of "Grease," based on how close they were.
Did John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John date?
The former co-stars were never romantically involved but did share one of Hollywood's most enduring friendships.
Despite the speculation, and a photo of the two of them kissing at a "Grease" party in 1978, Travolta and Newton-John's onscreen chemistry as Danny and Sandy didn't move offscreen.
Oliva Newton-John says other relationships stopped her and John Travolta from dating.
Newton-John even spoke about the rumors while on the "No Filter" podcast back in 2018, revealing that the two were never anything other than friends because they had both been in relationships at the time.
“We were both with other people when we were filming and I think, respectfully, it just didn’t happen,” Newton-John said. “So I think it was just as well it didn’t happen. But we’re still great friends."
“I think it was good [not dating] because I think it kept the tension there [on set] and the chemistry. It might have been a real disaster had we decided to date or we had a falling out or something.”
Newton-John continued, saying that "it never went beyond a friendship," despite the number of fans who desperately wanted the friends to be something more.
“We left the making out to Sandy and Danny, but the deep feeling of sisterly love I have for John continues to this day.”
John Travolta says there was some romantic tension on the 'Grease' set.
In a 2019 Q&A, Travolta revealed that there had been a lot of tension between him and Newton-John while on the set of "Grease."
When asked if there was sexual tension between the two, Travolta answered: "Yes!"
“I think you saw that in You’re The One That I Want. We almost resolved that tension right there," he continued.
Throughout their 45-year friendship, Newton-John and Travolta publicly supported each other and often spoke highly about the love they shared in their friendship.
In a 2018 interview with People to celebrate the 40th anniversary of "Grease," Newton-John said: "[In tough times] John always reaches out to me."
Travolta added to that sentiment, saying, "When you share that kind of meteoric success, and nothing has been able to exceed it, you share a bond. I've been through her having a child, getting divorced, losing her sister. She's been through my getting married, having children. It's wonderful and full of shared memories."
"Olivia's quite a spectacular human being. She's worthy of good friendship."
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.