John Travolta is paying tribute to his late wife. The actor honored the memory of Kelly Preston on Sunday, in commemoration of the first Mother’s Day since her death last July.
Travolta took to Instagram on Sunday to share a pair of snapshots of Preston, alongside an emotional memorial celebrating her legacy.
“Dearest Kelly, you brought into my life three of the most wonderful children I have ever known,” Travolta wrote. “We love and miss you. Happy Mother’s Day.”
The post included two family photos, the first featuring Travolta and Preston laying in a bed with their daughter Ella and son Benjamin. The second photo showed the proud parents smiling with their son Jett, who died in 2009 at the age of 16.
Sunday marked the first Mother’s Day Travolta’s family celebrated without Preston, after she died following a two-year battle with breast cancer on July 15. She was 57 years old. Travolta and Preston were married for 28 years after tying the knot in 1991.
In April, Travolta opened up for an interview with Esquire Spain, and he reflected on how he’s dealt with the grief of losing his wife.
“I learned that mourning someone, dealing with grief is something very personal,” Travolta told the publication. “Mourning is individual and experiencing your own journey is what can lead you to heal. Your grief is different from another person’s journey.”
“The most important thing you can do to help another person when they are in mourning is allow them to live through it and not complicate it with yours,” he shared. “Even though it’s great to have company, sometimes it turns into you helping them instead of you working on your loss and grief.”
