On Wednesday (October 13th), Saturday Night Fever star John Travolta took to his Instagram to share a special tribute to his late wife, Kelly Preston, on what would have been her 59th birthday.
“Happy Birthday Kelly. We miss and love you very much,” John Travolta wrote in the social media post, which features a sweet pic of the late actress.
Preston passed away on July 12, 2020, at the age of 57. The actress was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018. She had previously kept her diagnosis away from the public and had been receiving treatment at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
Preston’s death came nearly 12 years after she and Travolta’s son, Jett passed away while the family was vacationing in the Bahamas. The couple also shared two other children, Ella Bleu and Benjamin.
John Travolta Opens Up About His Discussion About Death With 10-Year-Old Son Ben
During a recent interview with Kevin Hart on his talk show Hart to Hart, John Travolta recalled the discussion he had about death with his 10-year-old son Ben after Kelly Preston passed away. “[Ben] said to me once, ‘Because mom passed away, I’m afraid you’re going to.’ I said, ‘Well, it’s a very different thing.’ And I went through the difference about my longevity and her limited life.”
John Travolta then recalled telling Ben that he was going to him the truth about life. “Nobody knows when they are going to go or when they are going to stay.” He reflected on his other son, Jett, passing away at 16, and Preston dying at 57.
“But who’s to say? I could die tomorrow. You could. Anybody can,” John Travolta continued. “So let’s look at it like it’s part of life. You don’t know exactly. You just do your best at trying to live the longest you can.”
Also during his interview with Esquire Spain last spring, John Travolta spoke about how he grieved after Preston’s passing. “I learned that mourning someone, dealing with grief is something very personal. Mourning is individual and experiencing your own journey is what can lead you to heal. Your grief is different from another person’s journey.”
Travolta goes on to add that the most important thing anyone can do to help another person when they are in mourning is to allow them to live through it and not complicate it with other mournings. “Let’s say you lose someone and at the funeral, you are very sad. Then another person approaches you who is feeling more sadder. And then doesn’t leave enough space for you to mourn. It would be like two boats plummeting to the bottom. That is my experience.”
