John Travolta & Kelly Preston Torn Apart By Grief
John Travolta grieving son Jett in seclusion while wife Kelly Preston throws herself into work.
Since their wedding in 1991, John Travolta and Kelly Preston have long been seen as one of the few Hollywood couples who stay together in good times and in bad.
But in times that are really bad, Celebitchy reports via Star magazine that the pair is struggling. Since the death of their 16-year-old son Jett on January 2 of this year the pair have been said to be coping very differently with their mourning. YourTango: How To Help A Partner Grieve
John is said to be resting in seclusion at their Florida estate—in bed, "bitter" and "withdrawn," saying he "can't let go" of Jett's memory. It sounds as though he may be experiencing a breakdown, and Star even quoted his friend Denzel Washington as saying, “John is struggling… one moment he’s okay, the next he’s in tears.”
Meanwhile it's reported Kelly Preston has spent most of the year in Los Angeles and Hawaii with 9-year-old daughter Ella while working obsessively on two new films (including as the mom of Miley Cyrus in The Last Song). Star says that Kelly is about to take off to film Casino Jack, and so far there are no reports of when she and John might reunite. YourTango: Career And Family: Can We Really Have Both?
In happier days John and Kelly were the poster parents for perfect Hollywood families with frequent family vacations, their children on set during filming, and even John's plane named Jett Clipper Ella after the kids. In his childhood Jett was said to have suffered Kawasaki disease, an autoimmune condition that affects the skin and heart, and during his teenage years the public made speculations that he was autistic. The coroner ultimately ruled his death due to a seizure, which was an afflicition he was known to encounter rather regularly.
The Preston-Travoltas, known for their devotion to the Church of Scientology, reportedly have begun to question the religion in the wake of Jett's death. YourTango's Celebrity Love continues to send our hopes of their healing and carrying on again as a resilient, renowned famous family.
Photo via Bauer-Griffin.
Discussion
I lost my son in 2004 to suicide. It is so hard to realize that your child was fighting demons so despartely that he finally feels he can no longer out run them. Losing a child no matter what the cause is so difficult. Too often it does tear marriages apart. Sometimes it brings spouses closer. By the grace of God, I fall into the latter group. My heart goes out to these parents. It has been almost 5 years and I think about my son every single day. He went home the only way he knew. God's peace to my son and to Jett. God's peace to John, Kelly, and Ella. They need to remember Ella is grieving, too. I hope they realize that she may not be able to take another loss at this time. We forget that sibs grieve just as much especially when they are very young.
Losing a child is absolutely the hardest thing that can happen to any parent. My only child, dies on Christmas Eve 2005, she was only 26. Parent are not suppse to outlive theur child, it's not natural.
There is no one way to cope, no one way to grieve; every day will be different. You will never get over losing your son and anyone that tells you different is wrong. Eveyone has to grief in their own way, but don't lose each other or your daugher. That would just be another tragedy and you don't need another one.
You have a beautiful daughter that needs you and I am sincerely hope that the two of you can make a great life for her. One thing that can happen when their are other children involved is that parents focus on their grief exclusively. They don't mean to ignore the children left behind, but in a way they are afraid to love too deeply because they know what losing them will be like.
Ella needs you BOTH and Jett would want you to be happy. It's not going to be easy, but life is not easy.
Jett will always be a part of your lives, he's always with you and he wants all of you to be happy as a family; as his family.
May you find some peace and solace during this horrible time. I will keep you in my thoughts.
On March 5, 2009 my only chid past away. I so understand the heart that this family is going through. I know with prayer and my faith i go on each day. I want to send a BIG HUG to this family and tell them to hold on to GODS unchanging hand. Seek him and let him know just how there feel. God never gives us more there we can bare. When my tears comes i embrace them and when I can smile i smile. With the love and support of my family and my churc family I am standing.
