The death of a spouse is one of the most difficult experiences in life, especially when they pass away at a relatively young age.
John Travolta and his family have endured several very difficult years. In 2020, his wife and mother of their children, Kelly Preston, died of breast cancer.
As always, John has since focused on being the best father he can be.
Over the years, Travolta has become one of the greatest actors of the century. Along the way, he met the love of his life, and together they created a wonderful family.
In 1991, after proposing at the Palace Hotel restaurant in Gstaad, Switzerland, a year earlier, John Travolta married Kelly Preston.
The couple tied the knot on 5 September 1991 in a secret ceremony at the Hotel de Crillon in Paris.
Kelly was born on 13 October 1962 in Honolulu, Hawaii, and, like John, worked in the film industry. She studied acting at the University of Southern California and began her acting career in 1985, appearing in several major films such as The Misfits, Twins, Jerry Maguire, and For the Love of the Game.
Preston also played several small roles on television throughout her career. In 2018, she starred in the film Gotti, which was her last film role. In July 2020, Kelly died after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
She was 57 years old.
‘On the morning of 12 July 2020, Kelly Preston, beloved wife and mother, passed away after a two-year battle with breast cancer,’ a family representative told People magazine at the time.
‘She was a bright, beautiful and loving soul who cared deeply for others and brought life to everything she touched. Her family asks that you respect their need for privacy at this time.’
It turned out that Kelly had kept her diagnosis a secret. On the British talk show Loose Woman, her co-star in Off the Rails — which was her last film role — Sally Phillips said that they knew nothing about it during filming.
‘Many people do this — they go through it alone because of concerns about insurance for the film and the possibility of working again afterwards,’ Phillips said, according to the Mirror.
“We’ve had a few high-profile examples of this recently, haven’t we? Chadwick [Boismann] and Helen McCrory didn’t tell anyone,” she added.
‘She fought a courageous battle, supported by the love and support of many people,’ Travolta wrote. ‘Kelly’s love and life will always be remembered.’
John Travolta wrote on Instagram: ‘My family and I will be forever grateful to her doctors and nurses at MD Anderson Cancer Centre, all the medical centres that helped her, and her many friends and loved ones who were by her side. Kelly’s love and life will always be remembered.’
In the same post, Travolta said that during his mourning period, he would be spending time with his family, especially his children, 22-year-old Ella and 11-year-old Ben. His first child with Kelly Preston, Jett, died of an epileptic seizure at the age of 16.
Travolta and Preston were married for 19 years before her death and had three children. Less than a year after her death, it is understandable that he is not ready to move on so soon.
John Travolta’s new girlfriend
For his part, Travolta is not yet ready to start a new relationship.
‘John has no shortage of friends who want to set him up with someone, and there are plenty of women who would like to date him,’ an insider told OK! Magazine.
“John is flattered, but he’s just not interested.
No one wants to pressure him because everyone understands that he is torn between wanting to open himself up to love again and wanting to remain single and be the best father he can be. Until John figures out his feelings, everyone is giving him the space he needs.”
Remaining reserved, Travolta spoke about his grieving process in an interview with Esquire Mexico.
‘I realised that grieving for someone, mourning, is a personal thing,’ Travolta told the magazine. “Mourning is individual, and only your own path can heal you.
It’s different from other people’s paths. The most important thing you can do to help someone else when they’re grieving is to let them live through it and not complicate their life with your own grief. That’s my experience.”
Travolta was no stranger to grief. In 2009, he suffered an even more tragic loss in his family: Jett, his eldest child with Preston, died of a seizure at the age of 16.