John Travolta Posts Sweet Tribute To Late Son Jett On His Birthday

Apr 15, 2021 by apost team

It's been almost 43 years since the hit movie "Grease" rocked the worlds of people across the globe and made John Travolta, 67, the superstar that he is today. John Travolta went on to have a decades-spanning career, but it's hard to forget him as Danny Zuko in "Grease"—the black-haired stud who broke the hearts of women all over the world. After marrying fellow actor Kelly Preston, who herself was a bombshell of her time, the couple had three children together: son Jett Travolta, born in 1992, daughter Ella Bleu Travolta, born back in 2000, and son Benjamin Travolta, born in 2010.

Tragically, however, Jett Travolta passed away in 2009 at the age of 16 due to an unexpected seizure and resulting fall. This, together with Preston's untimely death in 2020, means that the Travolta family is no stranger to tragedy. In the light of this, it is completely understandable that the remaining children and their father have formed a very close bond.

Jett, unfortunately, had a hard life right from the start. He was first hospitalized at the age of just 15 months with symptoms of Kawasaki disease. He went on to suffer from seizures as early as two years old, worrying his parents greatly. 

While the family was away on vacation to the Bahamas in January 2009, Jett had a seizure while in the bathroom and hit his head on the bathtub, and sadly passed away not long after.

PEOPLE reported at the time that Jett had hit his head on the bathtub during the seizure.

He was declared dead at Rand Memorial Hospital on Grand Bahama Island later the same day.

According to Kelly Preston at the time, Jett had suffered from asthma and recurring seizures. The actress believed that a reaction to certain chemicals included in household cleaners might have contributed to Jett's seizure and following death.

While the family was grieving Jett's death, the couple had Benjamin, which they later described as bringing them closer together. John Travolta told Good Morning America in a 2016 interview:

"We certainly have bonded together. And certainly, having little Ben has been a beautiful kind of glue for us to re-bond after tremendous loss."

Their son's death was the event that his father John later described as "the worst thing that's ever happened in my life," according to the BBC. Jett passed away in early January; months later, his parents found themselves in a Bahamian court as main witnesses in a blackmail and extortion case.

Many people were surprised to learn at the time that John's son lived with autism, and many more could not have guessed that his condition was so severe. The seizures Jett suffered were terrifying for his family. They used to last about 45 seconds; afterward, Jett would sleep for about 12 hours with little recollection of what had happened, according to ABC. This is what Jett's parents had to live with, and they did not want to make it public for the same reasons you and I close the door when we go to the bathroom or pull the curtains in the bedroom when we sleep: We all want some privacy in our lives.

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Because of this, the Travolta family at first wanted to keep their son's diagnosis out of the media following his death. 

Unfortunately, a Bahamian paramedic and a politician decided it would be a good idea to blackmail the family after Jett passed away. They demanded $25 million from Travolta and Preston, reported People — an amount that they probably could have afforded, but they chose to take the high road and notify police detectives in the Bahamas instead. By doing this, they knew that they would be letting the cat out of the bag since criminal trials in that Caribbean jurisdiction are public matters, but Travolta felt that this was the right thing to do.

Family details were revealed to the public during the trial, but John took things a step further by becoming active on Facebook and Instagram. He has posted stories about how life was with Jett and his various conditions. Travolta wants his fans to know that all moments he spent with Jett, even the most difficult ones, were worth not only worth living but probably the best 16 years of his life.

In continuation of this, John took to Instagram on what would have been Jett's 29th birthday to post a black and white picture of his son. He captioned the photo with the simple words:

"Happy birthday my beautiful Jetty. I love you."

Fans, family, and friends were quick to comment on the simple and yet heartfelt gesture. Many said that Jett and his mother Kelly, who passed away from cancer just last year, are reunited in the afterlife now.

Our sympathy goes out to the Travolta family. Do you also commemorate the birthday of people who left us too soon? Tell us your thoughts and pass this story along to remember Jett Travolta.