Olivia Newton-John and Missing Boyfriend Patrick McDermott ‘Did Not Have a Traditional Relationship’

Olivia Newton-John‘s longtime partner Patrick McDermott disappeared in 2005, and a new biography about the Grease star revealed that their relationship wasn’t as perfect as people may have thought.

“Olivia and Patrick did not have a traditional relationship,” journalist Gerard Wright told author Matthew Hild in his new biography about Newton-John, A Little More Love: The Life and Legacy of Olivia Newton-John, per the Daily Mail.

A separate source who remained anonymous reportedly told Hild that the “Physical” singer, who died in 2022, and McDermott were not “in constant contact like a lot of other couples.”

Newton-John and McDermott were known to have an on-again, off-again relationship, and the two were separated when he disappeared in June 2005 after joining an overnight fishing trip off the California coast. When the charter boat returned the following morning, he was gone. Several of his belongings, including his wallet and car keys, were reportedly left behind.

“They had recently agreed that they were ‘off-again,'” Hild wrote in the book, according to the outlet. “Although she hadn’t made any final decision to break up with him [permanently].”

However, despite their relationship status at the time, the Xanadu actress’ statement regarding his disappearance still raised eyebrows due to its seemingly formal tone.

“I am hopeful that my treasured friend is safe and well and I am grateful to the officials who are working so hard to find Patrick, whom I love very much,” Newton-John said in a statement almost two months after he vanished, per the Daily Mail.

She chose to keep quiet on the situation for months before addressing the topic in October 2005.

“It’s a really painful topic, and it’s still under investigation,” Newton-John told CNN’s Showbiz Tonight at the time. And I’m just – I love him very much, and as you can imagine, this is an incredibly hard thing to go through.”

The “Hopelessly Devoted to You” artist added that she was “frozen” after learning about McDermott’s disappearance, but she knew she had to continue living her own life. According to the book, Newton-John began singing again, as well as weekly tap dance classes.

“I think it was a getaway for her. It was an hour she could get away and, you know, take her mind off of all that s**t,” her former tap dance instructor Joe Giamalva reportedly said in the biography.

As Closer previously reported, authorities eventually determined that McDermott was likely lost at sea, but his disappearance fueled years of speculation. Reports later surfaced claiming he may have staged his own disappearance and fled to Mexico because of financial problems. However, those theories were never proven.