Newton-John breaks silence about missing boyfriend

[muchlove]

Sort of.

It has now been more than three months since OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN's missing boyfriend, PATRICK McDERMOTT, was last seen heading out for a fishing trip in San Pedro, CA. The Coast Guard and other authorities continue to investigate his disappearance and the circumstances surrounding it. Now, the actress/singer opens up to Entertainment Tonight in her first interview since the news broke.

"I go back and forth and I can't talk about it," Olivia told MARY HART. "And it's still under investigation. Speculation is really a dangerous thing, and I'd rather just leave it at that," she adds.

Olivia was in Australia when she first heard the news. The U.S. Coast Guard reported to ET that the 48-year-old McDermott has been missing since June 30, the day he left San Pedro on an overnight fishing trip. The boat came back to port the next day, but when McDermott didn't show up for a family event about six days later, his family became concerned and called the authorities. An investigation found personal effects of McDermott's on the boat and his car was in the parking lot.

"It's really, really painful for me, and really, really personal," says Olivia. "I respect that you are asking, but Patrick has a son, and it's just too hard to talk about. We miss him. We love him. We're still kind of praying that he'll still come back, and that's all I can say."

The former 'Grease' star says she's been coping with McDermott's disappearance by meditating, praying and listening to her own songs. "It's almost ironic that I wrote the songs," she admits, "it's as if I wrote them for myself."

At the time of the news, Olivia had planned to promote her CD on several shows including "Good Morning America" and "The View," but cancelled those appearances. Now, despite the heartbreak, the singer has decided to go on with her tour to promote her new album.

"I really thought of not doing it, but the album is about going through difficulty and getting through it. So, it's almost like walking the walk for me. I also know that Patrick would want me to do it because he believed in the cause and following through with your commitments. He was a very hardworking committed person, so I made the decision to do it."

Olivia met the cameraman in 1996 while filming a commercial in Los Angeles, and the Aussie singer kept their relationship very private. For Olivia, this situation is the latest in a long line of personal struggles. In 1992, Olivia was declared bankrupt. Later that year, her father died of liver cancer. On that very same day, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. ET spoke with the 56-year-old star last March, as she and DIAHANN CARROLL were recording a duet for a CD called Stronger Than Before benefiting breast cancer awareness, and she told us how she has handled hardship in her past.

"Pain makes you grow, even though it's difficult at the time," she said. "You look back and go, 'Wow, I wouldn't be where I am today if I hadn't gone through that!'"

etonline

[luvmy2cats]

I swear I had read somewhere before that they had actually broken up before he went MIA. So is this another publicity hound looking to keep her name in the media.

[BlueEyesCryin]

Meh -- I don't think ONJ is a publicity hound. And even if they had broken up, she would still be upset by all of this and probably still cared for him.

So where is he??

[Elisa]

This whole thing has had a weird vibe to it since the beginning. ONJ's (ex) boyfriend of 9 years dissappears and they wait how long to report it, then she doesn't return from Australia until long after?

Even if they were broken up, I would think that after 9 years together, you would show a little bit more concern and compassion. That said, there is definitely something fishy going on. I don't think she's keeping silent for the sake of his child. A child that, apparently, he's been a deadbeat dad to. I think she's feeling totally ashamed for having spent so much time with a loser and is trying the best she can to keep her name out of the whole fiasco.