In an exclusive and long-awaited interview, Hollywood icon John Travolta has opened up about his love life, revealing the captivating story of how he met his significant other.
This candid conversation provides a rare glimpse into the romantic journeys of famous celebrities and the extraordinary encounters that led them to their beloved partners. Isn't it interesting to know the love story of an icon we loved so dearly?
John Travolta met Kelly Preston on the set of "The Experts," back in 1987. Love looked as though it would blossom, but there was a small issue that Kelly was already married. It wasn’t until they re-met in Vancouver in 1990 when both were on separate film projects that their love affair really took flight, and they decided to give things a proper shot.
Kelly sought a divorce from her husband, and once things were finalized, the two were engaged. They planned to get married in New York, but when plans started to get out of control they decided to elope in the most romantic city in the world, Paris, and so in 1991 the two of them hopped on a plane and got hitched. Sounds much like a movie script, right?
John Travolta became famous after starring in a 1976 TV movie called "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble." He played a character named Tom who has a weak immune system and must live inside a protective bubble to avoid getting sick.
Tom wants to experience life outside the bubble and falls in love with his neighbor, Gina. Eventually, he becomes immune enough to leave the bubble and spends time with Gina. Travolta had a good connection with Diana Hyland, who played Tom's mother in the movie.
They may have seemed an unlikely pairing, but Diana Hyland and John Travolta were a pairing of true love. They were a huge eighteen years apart, but as they say, love can conquer all. They met on the set of the film, “The boy in the plastic bubble,” and played mother and son which made this an unlikely pairing.
Their love was not to last, as Hyland became sick with breast cancer and sadly died at the age of 41, in Travolta’s arms. The "Boy in the Plastic Bubble" was critically acclaimed, and as a result, Hyland was awarded an Emmy Award, which Travolta accepted in her honor.
Kelly Preston also had a colorful romantic history before her meeting Travolta. When they met once again in Vancouver, Kelly was at the time married to Kevin Gage. The couple had enjoyed a huge and lavish wedding in Hawaii but their marriage only two years when things started to fall apart.
Between 1987 and 1989, Kelly Preston was romantically connected to the actor George Clooney. People knew they were in a serious relationship when Clooney gave Preston a pet pig named Max as a gift. Even after they broke up, Preston kept the pet pig.
When John Travolta and Kelly Preston decided to tie the knot, things were not plain sailing from the start, by any means. They decided the wedding preparations were getting out of hand, so they hopped on a plane and had a small ceremony in Paris in 1991.
A Scientology minister led their wedding ceremony, but when they got back home, they discovered that their marriage wasn't official. They then organized another ceremony at Daytona Beach in Florida to make their marriage legally valid. It was quite a complex situation!
The Travolta was struck by tragedy in 2009 when Kelly and John’s son, Jett sadly passed away on January 2nd. The Travoltas had been enjoying a family vacation at their home away from home in the Old Bahama Bay Hotel in the Bahamas.
Their sixteen-year-old son, Jett, tragically hit his head on the bathtub and had a seizure, passing away soon after. This left the whole family, including Jett's sister, Ella, heartbroken and deeply sad. The Travoltas' family lawyer told People Magazine that "Burying your son is the most terrible thing one can experience."
Acting was something of a family business for the Travoltas. John’s mother, Helen, also made her career in acting which heavily influenced John and his career path. As a child he had watched his mother performing in roles for film and on the stage, taking on acting and dancing.
It was John Travolta who was the triple threat as he could act, dance and sing, a talent he discovered when he attended drama school in New York. Not many people realize that the mother and son pair starred together in both "Grease" and "Saturday Night Fever" showing their multi-faceted talents to the audience.
Helen and John, who were mother and son, had a strong connection because they both loved acting and performing. Salvatore Travolta, who was the head of the family, was Italian-American. His grandparents came from Italy to live in the United States. Salvatore believed in the American dream and was passionate about playing football.
He had a semi-professional career as a football player but decided to take on something with more stability. Salvatore retired from his sports career and opened a tire shop to be run by the family in New Jersey. Sadly in 1995, Salvatore died leaving a gaping hole in the Travolta family.
Apart from acting, Travolta loves flying. He's a talented pilot and got his license to fly private planes. Because of this passion, he purchased five planes. One of them is a Boeing 707 that he uses to take his family and friends on trips across the country and to distant, exciting places.
Travolta loves planes so much he built a home for his family in a residential airpark, part of the Jumbolair Aviation Estates. The house was built with a runway that goes straight to the Travolta’s front door so he can jump on a plane and fly to wherever he wants, whenever he wants.
John Travolta has been very successful in his career, making a lot of money and gaining a good reputation. Right now, his net worth is around $170 million. He's among the highest-paid actors in Hollywood because of movies like "Grease," "Hairspray," and "Saturday Night Fever." He keeps earning money from these movies through royalties.
It’s not surprising with this level of income that Travolta is able to spend his money on expensive homes and airplanes adding to his already impressive fleet. Not to mention the incredible trips he's able to take his family to all four corners of the globe.
In the popular movie "Saturday Night Fever" from 1977, Travolta amazed people with his acting and dancing skills. Even though he had talent, he worked really hard for nine months in a dance school to become a great dancer. He was inspired by the show "Soul Train" and wanted to include some of its style in his dancing.
Speaking about it at the time, Travolta told Vanity Fair magazine that he preferred “black dancing than white dancing” and that he had tried to bring elements of the Soul Train atmosphere into "Saturday Night Fever."
Over the years, John Travolta and Oprah Winfrey have developed a special bond. She has said he is her favorite movie star and Travolta often favors Oprah over other TV show appearances. In 2010, Oprah famously made a big announcement in the first episode of the last season of her talk show.
That the whole audience was being invited on an 8-day, all-expenses paid trip to Australia. As if this wasn’t enough, John Travolta had offered to fly the plane to take the audience to their destination. The pair needed to work on this concept for over a year, to make this a reality.
Kelly and John are familiar with the media focusing on them, and there were times when they wanted to share something important. In 1996, they talked about the weekend they spent at Demi Moore and Bruce Willis' house. They believe that's where their cherished son Jett was conceived.
They had no idea that in a few short years Jett would no longer be with them. It has not always been plain sailing for the Travoltas, and they have openly spoken about needing to a Scientology marriage counselor to help them through some of the more difficult times.
At the age of 47, Kelly was very surprised to find out that she was pregnant with their third child. This happy news came just sixteen months after the devastation of Jett’s death in the previous January. This news came as a huge shock and a great surprise as they were not expecting it.
The Travoltas were very happy and excited to tell their family about the good news. They said, "It's too exciting to keep it a secret! We're thrilled to let everyone know that we're going to have a new member in our family."
Kelly and John welcomed their third child, a baby boy whom they named Benjamin into the world in 2011. The family were so happy to have a new child after the tragic loss of their son, Jett just two years previous.
In an interview with Hello magazine, the Travoltas mentioned that having a new baby made the entire family feel happier and more focused. They expressed that Benjamin brought them a fresh start. John particularly cherished the feeling of holding Benjamin and seeing him happy when he smiled in his arms, saying it uplifted their spirits.
Kelly Preston was not just married previously, she was also engaged to Charlie Sheen for a short time in 1990. Sheen proposed with a 2.5-carat diamond engagement ring. The relationship ended after an accident with a handgun which Kelly wrote about in her autobiography.
Charlie had a gun which he had kept in the pocket of his pair of jeans. Kelly was trying to tidy up and moved the jeans when the gun went off and shot Kelly in the arm. The split was amicable, and they decided to sell the engagement ring and share the profits. Now that's one way to break up.
High school wasn’t the easiest for Travolta as he often found himself alone. He did not enjoy the same popularity as he does now, and he wasn’t successful with girls either. Travolta was mostly interested in perfecting his acting craft and so would spend most of his spare time in acting classes.
In an interview with the Phoenix, Travolta mentioned that most of his friends didn't get why he was into acting. While others played sports like football and basketball, he spent time at acting studios, which made it hard for them to relate. Because of his passion for acting, Travolta probably felt different from his friends and ended up spending a lot of his teenage years by himself.
They say there is no rest for the wicked, and this was the case for Travolta. Just four short days after filming on "Saturday Night Fever" wrapped, Travolta started working on his next hit movie, "Grease." This was the biggest box office hit of 1978, so it’s no surprise he wanted to get stuck in straight away. This was an especially difficult time for Travolta as his girlfriend, Diana Hyland had recently passed away in his arms.
According to the "Grease" director, Randal Kleiser, Travolta was having trouble lip-syncing the words “heat lap trials” and kept on saying, “heap” instead. As a professional, Travolta eventually got there and was able to lip sync correctly.
After finishing his tour with the "Grease" cast, Travolta was extremely successful and enjoying a glamorous lifestyle. He was thrilled to join ABC's well-liked show "Welcome Back, Kotter" as Vinnie Barbarino, a role he played as a rebellious character for four great years.
Along the way, he won the hearts of women of all ages across the United States and further afield. Reflecting on the show in the years since Travolta has noticed similarities with his character Vinnie.
By 1984, Travolta could choose the roles he liked. He got offered the main part in a movie named "Splash," where Daryl Hannah played a mermaid in New York City. Several famous actors, like Michael Keaton, Bill Murray, Dudley Moore, Allen Bauer, and Chevy Chase, said no to the role. Eventually, Tom Hanks took on the opportunity.
Travolta was discouraged by his agent who thought it wasn’t the right role for him at the time. This turned out to be a mistake as it was one of the huge box office hits of the year. Who knows how popular it could have been with Travolta in the starring role.
From a young age, Travolta loved aviation and flying. He got his private pilot's license and owned five airplanes. After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Travolta became an "Ambassador-at-large" for Qantas Airways. His goal was to encourage people to keep using airplanes despite the tragic events of that day.
It may seem strange that Travolta would link up with Qantas, who are in fact the Australian national airline, but Travolta was always impressed with their safety record and is known for flying the longest routes around the world. It was through Qantas that Travolta purchased his Boeing 707 aircraft, the most impressive in his fleet.
Like many celebrities, the Travoltas have a lot of money and can buy luxurious houses. They own four homes in Maine, California, Hawaii, and their biggest one in Ocala, Florida, where they live most of the time. What's really special about their Florida home is that it has its own airport with two runways that go right up to their front door.
The home is actually situated in a residential airpark. The Travoltas chose this location on purpose as they wanted to be able to access their airplanes at any time. In an interview with Australia’s Today program, Travolta was quoted in saying that “We designed the house for the jets and to have at our access the world at a moment’s notice.”
Travolta really loves planes and flying, which is awesome. He's been fortunate to share this passion with his good friend Marlon Brando, flying together as co-pilots on several flights. Travolta had hoped to fly alongside legendary aviators like Howard Hughes, a brilliant but troubled man known for his skills in aviation.
Hughes was brought back to life in the film, "The Aviator" when Leonardo DiCaprio took on the role. His other dream co-pilot would have been Charles Lindbergh who was the first person to fly solo, non-stop all the way over the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, both of these ambitions will remain dreams for John as both Lindbergh and Hughes sadly passed away many years ago.
Kirstie Alley and John Travolta became good friends after working together in the movies "Look Who’s Talking" and its sequel. They found out they both liked Scientology and had a lot in common. It took Kirstie Alley a long time to get over her romantic feelings for Travolta.
It’s interesting she felt that way because at the time they met she was married to Parker Stevenson, despite declaring to Barbara Walters that he was “the love of my life.” Kirstie remained faithful to Stevenson, and she and Travolta remained the best of friends.
You would be forgiven for assuming that Tom Cruise and John Travolta are good friends. In fact, this is not true at all. Despite having mutual friends, being part of the Hollywood scene, and being devoted believers in Scientology, the two are not at all close, by any means.
Leah Remini's book "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology" shares that Tom Cruise might not have liked John Travolta or Kirstie Alley. This seemed true because neither Travolta nor Alley got invited to Cruise's wedding with Katie Holmes in 2006. Quite a bit of drama!
Life in the Travolta household was mostly calm and quite typical, despite having a dad who was a very well-paid actor in Hollywood. However, everything changed when their lives were shattered by the heartbreaking loss of Jett Travolta. Jett passed away at the age of 16 after having a seizure. He had a younger sister who was only eight years old when her older brother died tragically.
A few days after the accident, the Travoltas released a statement which spoke of Jett. It said, “Jett was the most wonderful son that two parents could ever ask for and lit up the lives of everyone he encountered.” Any parent who loses a child will tell you, it is the hardest pain you will ever have to endure, and you will think about them every day.
During tough times, some people choose to mourn by themselves, while others lean on their close friends and family for comfort. The Travoltas opted for the latter, finding strength in the love and support given by their loved ones and even their fans. They mentioned that this outpouring of love has been a great help during this very difficult period.
On their website, they shared, “It shows us how kind people can be, giving us hope for better times ahead.” Although their lives changed, the couple chose to move on. On November 23, 2010, in Florida, they happily welcomed a healthy baby boy named Benjamin, weighing 8 pounds and 3 ounces.
To celebrate 25 years of marriage takes hard work and dedication and John and Kelly opened up to Closer Weekly about what they do to keep things on track. The underlying thought is that they care deeply for one another and have a genuine loving bond.
They mentioned to the magazine that they both feel a strong need to take care of each other. Many married couples advise keeping things exciting. They suggest having new adventures together, which helps in growing together as a couple while facing life's changes. Kelly agreed with these suggestions and emphasized the importance of spending quality time together. She said, "Make sure to do things together, just the two of you."
Being a team in parenting and presenting a united front is crucial. However, in the Travolta family, the kids are aware that John tends to be very lenient. He's kind of a "Yes Dad," as John himself confessed to the Daily Mail. He admitted that he usually says yes to almost anything concerning their youngest son, Ben.
Kelly added that if Ben were to ask her for ice cream at midnight, she would, of course, tell him that it was too late and he needs to go to bed. Two minutes later he would ask his dad and John would tell him, “Sure! Do you want hot fudge on that?” How do we get an invite to the Travolta house for a midnight ice cream.
Many of those who are in show business would not encourage their children following in their footsteps. This is not the case in the Travolta household as their daughter Ella Bley is well on the way to becoming an actress in her own right. Now as a young adult, she is honing her craft just as her father did.
When John was asked at the 2017 SAG awards about whether he encouraged her acting career, he answered positively and said, “Yes, I want her to because she is so good at it. She is such a good performer.” Fathers are always their daughters' biggest fans, but in this case, he may have a point.
John Travolta, a famous Hollywood star, has paid a lot of attention to his appearance, especially his hair and facial hair. He's dyed it in various colors and even added extra hair to make it look thicker. Usually, each new style is for a particular character he's going to portray in a movie.
The same goes for his facial hair which has seen a number of different styles including goatee beards and handlebar mustaches. While each of these different looks has been for different roles he was playing, there is no denying that each one has been pretty jarring for the average spectator.
One of the most iconic moments in John Travolta’s life was in 1985 when he danced with Princess Diana at the White House. It took place at a gala dinner hosted by the President at the time, Ronald Reagan. It was a surreal moment for both of them.
At the event, Nancy Reagan mentioned that Diana wanted to dance with John Travolta. He asked her, and she agreed. Travolta still considers it one of the greatest moments in his life. He mentioned, "We danced for 15 minutes. I feel really lucky to have had that experience."
When Travolta and the Australian actress/ singer Olivia Newton-John worked together when they starred as Danny Zuko, and Sandy Olsson in the on-screen musical "Grease" everyone could see the genuine chemistry between the two. The late great Newton-John was probably one of Travolta’s all-time crushes.
People began talking about a possible romance between them, especially when they worked together in more movies, like "Two of a Kind." However, the romantic relationship didn't become serious, and they stayed good friends until Olivia's unexpected death. They would often be seen together at Hollywood gatherings, recalling their past experiences.
Not every role you choose is going to be a success, and for Travolta, the dip in his career came when he starred in the movie, "Urban Cowboy," following which was a string of failed films that had very poor reviews and didn’t do well at the box office either. This was despite him being offered multiple roles that were sure-fire hits.
Not every decision is the right decision at the time, and this led to a downturn in movie offers and a period of quiet for Travolta. As we know, this wasn’t the end of his career, and soon enough, he was making good decisions and appearing in huge hits once again. Travolta had re-found his mojo.
Most of Travolta’s career has been focused on acting and dancing, but he is the triple threat and can also belt out a tune. After appearing in "Grease" he could have taken the same route as his co-star, Olivia Newton-John, and become a successful singer, but he decided to stick with acting.
John Travolta did make one foray into singing as a young 22-year-old when he released a love song entitled, “Let Her In.” It captured the hearts and minds of the American public and eventually made it to the number 10 spot on the Billboard charts. But that's as serious as Travolta got as a full-time singer.
Things started looking up for John Travolta when he acted alongside Kirstie Alley in "Look Who’s Talking" as a taxi driver. The movie came out in 1989 and earned an incredible $297 million in theaters. The people making the movie knew they had a hit because this was Travolta’s biggest success at the box office since "Grease." So, they decided to create several sequels, marking a new period of success for him.
Some people referred to this period as his "John-aissance." In 1994, he got a role in Quentin Tarantino’s film "Pulp Fiction," acting alongside Samuel L. Jackson. His performance as Vincent Vega earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. This was like a fresh start for Travolta, reaching new levels of success. Naturally, this brought more fame and wealth.
"Pulp Fiction" may not have been big budget, but it had catapulted Travolta into an area of A-list movies with top actors. In the long string of successful films for which he was given top roles during the nineties included playing opposite Nicolas Cage as an FBI agent in the thriller, "Faceoff."
In other movies, he acted as a loan shark in "Get Shorty" and as a lawyer in "A Civil Action." Towards the late 1990s, Travolta played a role resembling Bill Clinton, a presidential candidate, in the movie "Primary Colors." This character required a lot from him, and he had to make big changes in how he looked to make the role seem real.
For his role in "Primary Colors" in 1998, for which he would be portraying a Presidential candidate similar to Bill Clinton, the directors, and producers thought it might be more believable if Travolta gained some weight to portray the role.
They requested him to gain around thirty pounds, which was different from his usual slim physique seen in movies like "Grease" and "Saturday Night Fever." To gain weight, he mentioned that he got to eat a lot of burgers and junk food, which he admitted he enjoyed. He said, "It's been fun putting on the weight." However, he eventually had to lose that weight for upcoming projects.
Actors are often in the spotlight, but the biggest stage for them is the Academy Awards. In 2014, Travolta made a mistake by introducing Idina Menzel as Adele Dazeem. People were surprised he made such a mistake. He got a lot of criticism for it, but he handled it well. He sent the singer an apology along with a big bunch of flowers to make amends.
Menzel accepted his apology but got her own back the following year when the roles were reversed, and she introduced him as “Glom Gazino.” Everyone got a good laugh, but it got a bit uncomfortable when he joined her on stage and caressed her face. No one was quite sure what was going on, but everyone took it in good spirits.
John Travolta got into trouble again at the Oscars that year. On the red carpet, he went to kiss Scarlett Johansson hello while she was getting her picture taken by photographers. It ended up looking awkward and surprising.
Johansson was quick to jump to the defense of John Travolta saying that within the context it was a welcome gesture and was very sweet. She continued on to say, “That still photo does not reflect what preceded and followed if you see the moment live.” They say a picture says a thousand words, but sometimes you need a few extra to explain things.