John Travolta's heart-wrenching post to mark late son's birthday reminds us that a parent's love lasts forever

Losing a child holds a different kind of grief that often creates a void in a parent’s heart. Having had every wish to see them grow and accomplish so much in life, nothing can truly explain why it was stolen from a parent. Actor John Travolta lost his son, Jett Travolta, at the age of 16 in 2009, per BBC News. Travolta is familiar with the grief of losing a child for 16 long years. He shared a sentimental post on Instagram to mark the remembrance of his late son on what would have been his 33rd birthday and the bittersweet memories show the unfathomable love parents hold even after losing their loved one. 

Travolta had 3 kids with his wife, Kelly Preston, who passed away in 2020, per ABC News. Jett was the oldest, followed by Ella and Benjamin. Jett had experienced seizures before. However, in 2009, he unfortunately passed away after suffering an episode and hitting his head on the bathtub, per Access Hollywood. A few years after the passing of Jett, the dad noted how unbearable the pain was. "The truth is, I didn't know if I was going to make it. Life was no longer interesting to me, so it took a lot to get me better,” the actor said. He was having a rough time, and it was so painstaking that he didn’t even want to wake up after the death of his son.

He noted that the Church of Scientology helped bring hope and healing, but it only came slowly and steadily, over months. "I will forever be grateful to Scientology for supporting me for two solid years—I mean Monday through Sunday," he noted. The “Grease” actor added, “They didn't take a day off, working through different angles of the techniques to get through grief and loss and to make me feel that finally I could get through a day." However, it’s not easy to completely heal from something like death, it’s even harder when you’re a parent and for Travolta, things were no different.

Over time, he has been holding dearly each memory of his beloved Jett in his heart and mind. This year would have marked Jett’s 33rd birthday. Though his son is not with him physically, he knows his spirit and love are well-intertwined with the boy. The post showed Travolta holding a little Jett in his arms. The smiles on the father-son duo revealed the delight they shared in each other's company. Travolta looked like he was embracing his whole world in that one picture. “Happy birthday, Jett - I miss you so much! Love you forever!” he wrote in the caption.

In the previous year too, the actor shared a glimpse of his late wife, Preston, and late son and wrote, “Happy birthday, my Jetty - not a day goes by where you’re not with me!” Recalling what he once told his youngest on Kevin Hart's talk show "Hart to Heart," the actor poignantly noted, “Nobody knows when they're gonna go or when they're gonna stay…Your brother left at 16, too young. Your mother left at 57, that was too young. But who's to say? I could die tomorrow. You could. Anybody can. So let's look at life as part of life. You don't know exactly, you just do your best at trying to live the longest you can."