John Travolta and his family marked on Sunday their first Mother’s Day since Kelly Preston’s passing. The Grease actor, 67, honored his late wife with a moving tribute on Instagram. Alongside two photos of Kelly with their kids, John wrote: “Dearest Kelly, you brought into my life three of the most wonderful children I have ever known. Thank you. We love and miss you. Happy Mother’s Day.”
One photo showed Kelly and John posing in a bed with their daughter Ella and youngest son Benjamin. The Saturday Night Fever star also shared a picture of Kelly holding their oldest son Jett, who died in 2009, while he smiled next to his wife and firstborn.
John’s daughter Ella, 21, also paid tribute to her mom with a Mother’s Day post. “Mama, thank you for all you have done for us and for this world. I miss you and love you very much, but your smile, warmth and love is ever lasting. Wishing all of the moms a happy Mother’s Day❤️,” Ella captioned a photo of her as a little girl with Kelly.
Kelly died last July following a two-year battle with breast cancer. John, who married the actress in 1991, recently opened up about what he has learned since the death of his wife. “Mourning is individual and experiencing your own journey is what can lead to healing,” he told Esquire Spain. “This is different from someone else‘s journey. 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.”
“Because even though it’s great to have company, sometimes it becomes like you are helping them, rather than putting to work overcoming the feeling of loss and mourning,” John added. “You don’t know how many people have approached me ... and then I felt so saturated with everyone’s sadness that I didn’t know what to do. The first thing you should do when you experience grief is to go to a place where you can mourn, without any interference. If I die tomorrow, the last thing I want to see is that everyone around is sunk.”