Olivia Newton-John has opened up about her bout with depression and how she coped with the mysterious disappearance of her partner of nine years, Patrick McDermott, who vanished on a fishing trip off the California coast in 2005.
The actress and singer, 64, tells U.K.'s The Times that she relied on antidepressants to help her deal with the tragedy, according to the Daily Mail. Newton-John says she used the medication for three months following McDermott's disappearance, explaining, "I took them until I could see the light again and never did them again. I didn’t want to become dependent on them. That’s why I stopped."
"Of course I still think about him," she adds to The Times. "It was a difficult time and got me out of a hole."
Newton-John, who's now married to businessman John Easterling, also reveals that she went to therapy when life got too difficult. Not only did she face the McDermott mystery, but she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, went through a heartbreaking divorce from her first husband, Matt Lattanzi, in 1995 and watched her daughter Chloe battle an eating disorder throughout her teens.
"Yes, a few times," she says of attending therapy sessions. "Once when I had cancer, another when he disappeared and also during my divorce."
"I needed it," Newton-John continues, "It gives you the [strength] to help you heal and deal with things."
As for her daughter Chloe's struggle, the "Grease" star says the 27-year-old is now healthy and happy. "She’s through that now, but obviously it was very difficult as a parent to watch," Newton-John explains of the budding musician.
"It’s hard for children of famous people," she adds. "They think they should live up to their parents.