Sunday was a difficult day for former Grease star John Travolta and his family, as it was the first Mother’s Day that they had to celebrate without his beloved wife Kelly Preston, who died last summer at the age of 57 following a battle with breast cancer. To mark the occasion, Travolta took to Instagram to pay an emotional tribute to his late wife.
“Dearest Kelly, you brought into my life three of the most wonderful children I have ever known,” Travolta wrote. “We love and miss you. Happy Mother’s Day.”
Travolta wrote this caption alongside two photos of Preston, with the first showing the two of them laying in a bed with their daughter Ella and son Benjamin. The second photo was of a beaming Travolta and Preston with their late son Jett, who passed away back in 2009 at the age of 16.
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Last month, Travolta opened up about his grief over the death of his wife in an interview with Esquire Spain.
“I learned that mourning someone, dealing with grief is something very personal,” Travolta said at the time. “Mourning is individual and experiencing your own journey is what can lead you to heal. Your grief is different from another person’s journey.”
“The most important thing you can do to help another person when they are in mourning is allow them to live through it and not complicate it with yours,” he added. “Even though it’s great to have company, sometimes it turns into you helping them instead of you working on your loss and grief.”
Fans were stunned when Preston passed away last July, as she had not told the public that she was battling cancer.
“It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer,” Travolta wrote on Instagram at the time. “She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many. My family and I will forever be grateful to her doctors and nurses at MD Anderson Cancer Center, all the medical centers that have helped, as well as her many friends and loved ones who have been by her side.”
“Kelly’s love and life will always be remembered,” he added. “I will be taking some time to be there for my children who have lost their mother, so forgive me in advance if you don’t hear from us for a while. But please know that I will feel your outpouring of love in the weeks and months ahead as we heal. All my love, JT.”
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