Olivia Newton-John reveals why she couldn't date John Travolta during Grease
It seems almost inevitable these days for co-stars who play lovers on-screen to then translate that romantic relationship to real life. But despite Hollywood having countless celebrity couples who fell in love during filming, Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta were never one of them.
Once the popular musical Grease was released, fans of the movie were desperate to see Olivia and John together but the two of them preferred to keep their relationship with each other strictly platonic, with Olivia describing her love for John as “sisterly”.
Now, speaking on Mamamia's No Filter podcast, the actress shared the exact reason as to why the two never ended up dating, and why it was beneficial for the both of them.
“We were both with other people when we were filming, and I think, respectfully, it just didn’t happen,” said Olivia, who played Sandy in the film.
“I think it was good, because I think it kept the tension there and the chemistry. It might have been a real disaster had we decided to date, or we had a falling out or something. So, I think it was just as well that it didn’t happen. But we’re still great friends.”
Olivia, who was 28 when she played the iconic role of Sandy, shared in her book Don’t Stop Believin’ that she believed “Sandy was someone else’s role” and she was close to passing it off.
But it was John who convinced her to give it a chance, as he told her: “There was only one person on this planet I could see as Sandy, and that person was Olivia Newton-John. I told the producers.”
That’s all it took for Olivia to sign herself up and the rest is history, with the 1978 film being a smash hit and still one of the most popular musicals today.