Kelly Preston Opens Up About Loss, Religion
Kelly Preston has opened up about the tragedy that changed her family's life forever in a recent interview, citing her faith in Scientology as a source of strength.
The 49-year-old actress and her husband John Travolta lost their 16-year-old son Jett three years ago after he died of a seizure. The abrupt death sent the family into a stunned grief.
"I've had enormous loss," reflected Preston during an interview on Lifetime's "The Conversation With Amanda de Cadenet." "Nobody should have to lose a child. It's unfathomable."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Lifetime's new series, executive produced by Demi Moore, reveal intimate and candid interviews with numerous female celebrities. During her interview, Preston delivered an important lesson she learned following her son's death.
"I'm here to say that you can get through it," said "The Experts" actress. "You can live again. You can want to live again."
Preston credited her recovery to family, friends, fans, and the Church of Scientology, to which she will "forever be indebted" to.
"In Scientology, we have what's called 'auditing,' and that helps you to address things in your life and to strip them away,'" the actress explained to Cadenet.
"It's a path of spiritual enlightenment," she added. "Also, it helps rid the mind of painful experience completely. Through that, that people at my church literally held my hand and got me through… I will be forever indebted."
Preston joins celebrities such as Tom Cruise and Kristie Alley, who also follow the teachings of Scientology.
"You never forget," Preston noted. "But I feel like the weight of the world was lifted."
At the worst points of her grief, Preston described it felt much like she was drowning.
"It felt like a sea of wet blankets," said the actress. "And then I just peeled them off, layer by layer, so that I can now say, 'I want to live. I love life. My life is beautiful and amazing.'"
Married since 1991, Preston and Travolta share daughter Ella Bleu and welcomed their second son, Benjamin Hunter Kaleo, in 2010.
"I'm not afraid to love and to love deeply," concluded the actress while on "The Conversation."
"My kids help me with that. They open up your heart so much. There's nothing like the love of a child … it's the greatest thing ever."
The interview for the Lifetime series was filmed before allegations arose that Travolta sexually assaulted two male masseurs, which Travolta's attorney vehemently denies.
"The Conversation With Amanda de Cadenet" airs on Lifetime Thursdays at 11 p.m. EST.
