John's loving tribute 'SHE WILL ALWAYS BE MY SANDY'

FROM DAY ONE, HE WAS HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO HIS GREASE CO-STAR

- Karleigh Smith

Olivia Newton-John 1948-2022

While the entire world is mourning the passing of the iconic Olivia NewtonJohn, one man is feeling the loss more acutely than most.

Mere minutes after Olivia's death at age 73 was announced last week, her grieving Grease co-star John Travolta shared a heart-rending tribute to his "dearest" friend.

John - who played Danny Zuko opposite Olivia's Sandy Olsson in the hit 1978 movie - said, "You made all of our lives so much better. 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."

On August 8, following her 30-year breast cancer journey, Olivia passed away peacefully at the Southern California ranch she shared with husband John Easterling. The legendary entertainer was surrounded by loved ones, including her 36-year-old daughter Chloe Lattanzi.

"John is crushed," shares a close friend, speaking exclusively to New Idea. "Olivia was candid about the fact that once her cancer had metastasized [in 2017, from her breast to her spine], she was living on limited time. Even still, nothing can really prepare you for this."

All while knowing of her own diagnosis, in 2020 Olivia supported John through his own breast cancer nightmare, when he lost his wife Kelly Preston to the disease when she was 57.

"John wouldn't have coped without Olivia," says our source. "She called him as often as she could. For John to lose Kelly and then Livvy the two women he loved most in the world within two years is unfathomable." 

John supported Olivia through her first cancer battle in 1992 after she learnt of her diagnosis in the same week her father, Bryn, passed away from the disease. He was there  again when it returned in 2013. Around this time, Olivia sadly lost her older sister Rona to cancer.