Examining the Love Story Between Kelly Preston and John Travolta Four Years After Her Death
Prior to Preston’s passing in 2020, the actors had been together for more than 30 years, having originally started dating in 1987.
The late Kelly Preston, the wife of John Travolta, will “always” be remembered.
Before the Jerry Maguire actress passed away from breast cancer on July 12, 2020, at the age of 57, the stars were first connected in 1987 and were married for over 30 years. Her son Benjamin, now 13 years old, and daughter Ella, now 24 years old, survived her.
Discover the details of their illustrious love story, spanning from Travolta’s dashing New Year’s Eve proposal to their three sharing children, four years after Preston passed away.
Early in their careers, the two celebrities got to know each other on the set of the 1989 comedy The Experts.
Even though the movie bombed at the box office, it marked the beginning of the two characters’ relationship, which would eventually turn into a romance.
Preston was approaching the end of her two-year marriage to Kevin Gage, whom she would later refer to as the “wrong person” for her in a 2018 appearance on Watch What Happens Live!, when the two first became friends on set.
Preston then moved in with George Clooney for a short while until they broke up in 1989. From 1990 to the present, Preston was briefly engaged to actor Charlie Sheen, who proposed with a 25-carat diamond ring.
Soon after, Travolta and Preston began dating. The Grease star wasted no time in tying the knot with his future bride, proposing on New Year’s Eve 1991 inside the Palace Hotel restaurant in Gstaad, Switzerland, with a six-carat ring set in yellow and white diamonds.
Jonathan Krane, the producer of Travolta’s Look Who’s Talking Too, claims that Preston was taken aback by the prompt proposition. Krane recalled, “She screamed.”
Those close to the couple knew even then that they would be together for eternity.
Following her daughter’s previous marriage and brief engagement, Preston’s mother stated in a 1991 interview with PEOPLE that this one was different. Linda Carlson recalled Kelly telling her, “I always get involved with the bad-boy kind.”
Conversely, Travolta was “so kind and loving and generous”; in other words, “what she needs.”
Preston also has long-term goals in mind; following their engagement, he revealed to Entertainment Tonight that they “plan to have some babies.
” And in 1993, the couple welcomed their first son, Jett, into the world following their private Parisian ceremony and their second wedding, held a week later in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The couple expanded their family even more in 2000 when Ella, their first daughter, was born.
Throughout the course of the decade, the actors maintained their professional commitments while raising their two young children.
Travolta appeared in movies like Swordfish, Ladder 49, and Lonely Hearts, while Preston appeared in movies like The Cat in the Hat and What a Girl Wants. The actors even occasionally took their children to red carpet events as a family.
However, tragedy befell the family in 2009 when Jett, who was 16 at the time, passed away from a head injury brought on by a seizure when the family was vacationing in the Bahamas.
“[John] never dreamed of this—their relationship was so close,” Mike Ossi, the family lawyer, stated at the time. “He used to say, ‘I’m content as long as my children are content.'”
He is devastated. The worst thing you can do is bury your son.”
Travolta and Preston welcomed Benjamin, another baby boy, the following year. Travolta said to PEOPLE upon the baby’s birth, “He’s given the house a renewed spirit and purpose.”
The stars, who had seen highs and lows together, eventually found comfort in their marriage and enjoyed a decade of milestone birthday celebrations and heartfelt anniversary tributes on social media.
Travolta announced the tragic news of his wife’s passing on July 12, 2020, two years after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I must tell you, with great sadness, that my lovely wife Kelly has lost her two-year struggle with breast cancer.
The actor posted on Instagram, “She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many.” “Love and life spent with Kelly will never be forgotten.”
The celebrity has kept his wife’s memory alive even after she passed away by using social media to pay tribute to Preston on the Mother’s Days, wedding anniversaries, and birthdays that they were unable to celebrate together.
