A Man of Many Passions
- Grease film icon and fan favorite actor John Travolta, 70, has given fans a glimpse into life behind the scenes of his annual jet training that he apparently must keep up to continue living his dream by flying his own planes.
- Posting frequently on social media, the dedicated aviator and loving dad has delved full-time into his passions and children after losing his wife Kelly Preston to breast cancer in 2020. She was 57 years old.
- The pain from losing a loved one never goes away, but cherishing life’s moments is a way to continue celebrating life, even through loss. There should never be any shame in that. Still, it is important to check in with yourself, loved ones, and if needed, a mental health therapist to continue processing those feelings of grief.
“Here’s a look at my recurrent flight training,” he captioned a video of himself in front of a tech wall as the clip then cut to him in the pilot’s seat of a plane, which he says was just a “simulator” for training purposes.
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Posting frequently on social media, the dedicated aviator has delved full-time into his passions after losing his wife Kelly Preston to breast cancer in 2020. She was 57 years old.
Since that time, the loving father has also been showcasing life with his kids, Ella, 24, and Benjamin, 13, who appear to have bonded together after losing the beloved matriarch of their family.
Unfortunately, this is not Travolta’s first time learning how to process grief, as the couple’s firstborn, Jett, tragically died at age 16 in 1992 after suffering a seizure.
But life must continue – and many believe that the best way to honor loved ones who have passed is by trying to keep moving forward, while honoring the person by cherishing and sharing all your special memories.
The Travolta family appears to be doing so in a healthy way and standing by each other, with Travolta stepping up to serve the role as both parents, and seems to always find a way to brighten his kids’ day.
Last week, the Pulp Fiction star showed a photo of the family’s adorable puppy. “The day we adopted Peanut on Oscar night!” he wrote. “She’s brought the biggest joy to our family.”
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Fans in the comments praised the New Jersey native for adopting and noted how much “joy, love and laughter” that Peanut will bring him and his family.
John Travolta and Kelly Preston’s Love Story
John Travolta and Kelly Preston met in 1988, when they worked on The Experts together, and married in 1991. He announced the tragic news of his wife’s passing on Instagram with a beautiful tribute and picture of Preston.
“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,” he wrote. “She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many.”
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Travolta apologized in advance for his absence, as he would be taking care of his children who just lost their mother. “But please know that I will feel your outpouring of love in the weeks and months ahead as we heal.”
Healing Through Grief
Travolta emphasized the need for space during his grieving process, which he had every right to request. Understandably, losing a loved one can cause immeasurable pain and allowing yourself the time and space to mourn is crucial in order to be able to slowly begin picking up the pieces. Of course, therapy can go a long way in this healing process.
Again, those we have lost would not want us to stop living life, so the best gift we can give to the fallen loved ones we cherish is to keep experiencing life’s beautiful moments in their honor.
In an earlier interview with SurvivorNet, Camila Legaspi shared her own advice on grief after her mother died of breast cancer. For her, therapy made all the difference.
Regaining Your Sense of Self After Losing Someone to Breast Cancer
“Therapy saved my life,” says Legaspi. “I was dealing with some really intense anxiety and depression at that point. It just changed my life, because I was so drained by all the negativity that was going on. Going to a therapist helped me realize that there was still so much out there for me, that I still had my family, that I still had my siblings.”
“When you lose someone, it’s really, really, really hard,” Legaspi added. “I’m so happy that I talked to my therapist. Keep your chin up, and it’s going to be OK. No matter what happens, it’s going to be OK.”
Losing a Spouse to Cancer
John Duberstein lost his wife, writer Nina Riggs, to metastatic triple negative breast cancer. He says that while he was watching her suffer from the disease, he couldn’t help but wish things could go back to normal, but Nina had already embraced her new normal. When it’s time to face passing on , acceptance can be monumental.
“Nina really wanted things to go back to normal, whatever that meant,” John previously shared with SurvivorNet. “She was not for that. She wanted to embrace the existence that she had, even before she knew she was going to die imminently. I did not want to talk about what was going to happen with me after Nina died. Nina is the one that really brought it up, she brought it up a number of times.”
“She wanted to make sure that I knew that it was OK – she really wanted me to have another relationship after she was gone.”
The Toughest Conversations Losing a Spouse to Cancer
John said that even with the pain of losing Nina, and even though he didn’t want to talk about it at the time, he’s so glad that his wife started those uncomfortable conversations. “In retrospect, I can’t even explain how glad I am that I had that,” John added.
Travolta was with his wife in Clearwater, Fla. when she died. The pain from losing a loved one never goes away, but cherishing life’s moments is a way to continue celebrating life, even through loss.
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