John Travolta and his two children had a void in their family as they celebrated Father’s Day. It was the first the actor spent without his wife, who died last year.
Travolta posted a photo of himself and his two kids, Ella Blue and Benjamin. His daughter looks a lot like him, while Benjamin is a sweet reminder of his beautiful mother. Travolta captioned the photo:
“Happy Father’s Day everyone! It is a privilege to be the father of these two beautiful children – thank you for the honor and my love and respect to all fathers.”
Father’s Day already was tough. John Travolta and his wife, Kelly Preston, lost their son and oldest child, Jett, in early 2009. Jett was autistic and suffered from seizures. He was only 16 when he died while the family was on vacation in the Bahamas.
Then, last July, Preston died. She was 57. In a statement posted on social media, Travolta said his wife died after a two-year battle with breast cancer. The Travolta family was so private, few even knew Kelly Preston was sick.
Ella also celebrated Father’s Day with a sweet family photo taken on vacation. She wrote: “You make parenting look so easy, though it not always is. You make everyday better than the one before it. (And) you bring joy to us when we are down. You are our best friend and we love you to the moon and back around.
I hope to be even half as good of a parent as you someday. Happy Father’s Day to this incredible man and to all of the amazing Dads out there.”
John Travolta and Kelly Preston were married for 29 years. Jett was born a year after the two wed. Then Ella came along in 2000. After Jett died, Travolta confessed that he didn’t “know if I was going to make it.” He and Preston tried for another baby. Ben came along in 2010.
Now, Travolta is a single dad. Ella is grown, but Ben is only 10. Last year, Dad already was teaching him some sweet dance moves. Click it here to see John and Ben do the Grease Lightning scene from Grease. Like her dad, Ella also is involved in movies.
John Travolta, in a recent interview with Esquire Spain, talked about his experience dealing with grief. Unfortunately, he’s too familiar with the emotion.
“I have learned that mourning someone, mourning, is personal,’ Travolta said. ‘Mourning is individual and experiencing your own journey is what can lead to healing.’
‘The most important thing you can do to help another when they are in mourning is to allow them to live it and not complicate it with yours. That’s my experience.”
