LOVES & LOSSES

A TWIST OF FATE LED TO OLIVIA'S GREATEST HAPPINESS

- Phillip Koch

It took Olivia almost 60 years to find her soulmate, after a rollercoaster personal life that included divorce, heartache and a boyfriend who went missing, sparking rumours he had faked his own death.

"I always tell my friends you're never too old to find love," she said in 2016. "I found the love of my life at 59 going on 60! I'm grateful."

Olivia says she "wasn't expecting to fall in love" when she reconnected with John Easterling 15 years ago. A little over 12 months earlier, her on-off partner of nine years, Patrick McDermott, had disappeared under mysterious circumstances during a boat trip in June 2005.

Olivia and John's romance was a slow burn, with the two forging a friendship after they kept "bumping" into each other at charity events over the years.

On one occasion, Olivia offered John her guest house to stay in during a visit to California to promote his botanical business. However, the trip almost ended in tragedy the following morning when John drove off a cliff on his way to the airport and seriously injured himself.