John Travolta Posts Video Of Daughter Ella And Son Benjamin On First Christmas Without Wife Kelly Preston

Dec 28, 2020 by apost team

The Travolta family celebrated their first Christmas without Kelly Preston this year, who died in July 2020 after a two-year-long battle with breast cancer. In the short video, viewers get a rare glimpse into the Travolta family home as well as a look at daughter Ella and son Benjamin on Christmas morning. 

John Travolta shared a cheerful Christmas video of Christmas morning at their home this year. The small clip featured his daughter Ella, 20, and son Benjamin, 10, as they comfortably celebrated the festive season with a beautifully lit Christmas tree in the background and surrounded by presents. In the video, John Travolta can be heard saying, "Say merry Christmas, Ella!" who poses in front of the gorgeous tree in black pajamas, and takes a small turn to feature son Benjamin as he enjoyed his Christmas sweets. An array of presents can be seen in the background. 

"Merry Christmas from the Travolta family!" John Travolta, 66, wrote as the video's caption. 

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This year marked the first holiday season for the Travolta family after matriarch Kelly Preston passed away on July 12, 2020. The death was met with shock and sadness by fans and the Hollywood fraternity, as her 2-year-long battle with breast cancer was not made public. Following her death on July 12 in 2020, John Travolta shared the news in an Instagram post that read,

"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. She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many."

The post continued by saying, "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."

John Travolta and Kelly Preston would have been married 29 years in September 2020. CNN reports that the pair first crossed paths in 1988 on the sets of the film The Experts, where the pair had to dance together. At the time, Preston was married to Kevin Gage, her Space Camp co-star. Speaking of their time together on Andy Cohen in 2018, Preston revealed that it was "kinda" love at first sight for both of them. "Well I was not that happily married, let's put it that way," Preston said. "I was really with the wrong person." Preston's marriage to Gage ended only after 2 years together, and she went on to have a short relationship with George Clooney which ended in the late 1980s, reports PEOPLE. This was followed by another short-lived relationship with Charlie Sheen, which ended in 1990, shortly after Sheen accidentally shot her in the arm. 

Travolta and Preston's friendship, cultivated on the sets of The Experts, quickly turned into romance and the pair were married in 1991. PEOPLE reports that on New Year's eve 1991, Travolta got down on one knee and proposed with a six-carat yellow-and-white diamond ring in Switzerland. The proposal took Preston by surprise according to producer Jonathan Crane. After wedding plans became unmanageable in New York City, Travolta and Preston eloped to Paris but had to register again in the United States once they were back according to CNN. They have had one of the longest and most enduring marriages in Hollywood.

The couple became one of the iconic Hollywood couples known for their loving marriage. On their 28-year wedding anniversary in September 2019, Kelly took to Instagram to affirm her love for her longtime partner:

"You have given me hope when I have felt lost, loved me patiently and unconditionally… made me laugh harder than any other human being possible... shared the most beautiful highs and at times lows."

Speaking to US Weekly, Preston shared her secrets to keeping her marriage so healthy. "I think that we were just right together, that we picked the right people and keeping it honest and communicating and checking in with each other," she said, and added, "A relationship doesn't just happen. You have to work at it. You've got to keep it fun and that's what we do." Through their marriage, they had remained strong and steady, always supporting each other through the crests and troughs that life threw at them. Moreover, CNN reports that family was everything to them throughout their lives. 

Their first son, Jett, born in 1992, tragically passed away in 2009 after he fell and hit his head during a seizure when the family was on vacation in the Bahamas. It was one of the most painful and challenging events in both Preston and Travolta's life. "[John] never dreamed of this — their relationship was so close," Mike Ossi, the family attorney, said. "He always said 'I'm happy as long as my kids are happy.' He is heartbroken. To bury your son is the worst thing you can ever do."

After this tragic time, Preston and Travolta welcomed their son Benjamin in 2010. Preston told Today in 2011 that it had taken her three years to conceive Benjamin. She said, "I didn't [consider the risks]. I just considered that it was difficult." Speaking of her pregnancy, she added, "I never thought that would be me at all," and added, "So, I think we're just really happy that we're so fortunate." She said that having a second son had been "wonderfully healing" for her and her family following Jett's death the year earlier. "Certainly having little Ben has been a beautiful kind of glue for us to rebound after a tremendous loss," Travolta told Good Morning America in 2016, as quoted by People. 

Travolta and Preston's second child, Ella, was born in 2000 and has followed her parents' footsteps into acting. Considering her stunning looks—coming from both of her parents—it's no surprise Ella Bleu wants to work in show business. Speaking with People last year, she stated:

"Since I was very little, I've loved performing, singing, dancing, and putting on shows at home for my family and friends."

She already made her acting debut all the way back in 2009 in the movie Old Dogs, which also starred both of her parents, as well as Robin Williams. According to Newsner, Ella Bleu had told Celebrity Pulse: "It was awesome to act with my parents in my first movie, it made it a lot easier." Travolta and Preston starred in the 2018 film Gotti together, in which Travolta played the famed mobster John Gotti, while Preston played his wife Victoria Gotti. The father-daughter duo's working relationship seems to be a very positive and good one. 

She also has just as much love for her father as he for her, sharing a heartwarming message for him on Father's Day in June 2020. Alongside a photo of the two of them dressed up as John Travolta holds a martini, Ella Bleu captioned the picture:

"One of the many things I admire most about you is that you never cease to love and help your fellows. You are gracious and selfless and that inspires me to be a better person everyday. Thank you for raising me with so much love and kindness. I am forever thankful to have you in my life and I love you so much. Happy Fathers Day Daddy!!!❤️❤️❤️"

Sadly her mom won't have the chance to see Ella's career blossom after her untimely death in July of this year. John Travolta was the one to share the tragic news with the world following Preston's two-year "courageous fight" against breast cancer, which she'd kept away from the public. In the Instagram post that followed Preston's tragic death, Travolta went on to add that he'd be taking time off to be there for kids Ella Bleu and Benjamin as they all mourned Preston's passing:

"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."

The short Instagram video from Christmas 2020 was only the second time Travolta has reached out to fans and followers via his social media account. The first was his Thanksgiving post roughly a month prior, in which he said: "I just wanted to take this moment to thank each and every one of you for supporting me in such an incredible way this year. Happy Thanksgiving, and always love."

It's good to see that the Travolta family seems to be slowly healing from Preston's loss. Everybody who has lost someone dear knows that times like these are especially hard at first. A traditionally family-oriented holiday like Christmas can drive home the feeling of loss and make the absence of a loved one even greater, resulting in a sudden, second realization that the cherished person who used to be there for all those years now suddenly isn't anymore. It's uplifting to see that the Travoltas were able to share their well-wishes with their fans.

What did you think about this short but sweet family Christmas video? How did you spend Christmas this year? We'd be happy to hear of your thoughts and listen to your stories! Pass this story along to other Travolta fans and family.