How Kirstie Alley Became Friends with Kelly Preston After Declaring Love for Husband John Travolta
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Kirstie Alley's love for John Travolta didn't stop her from respecting his wife Kelly Preston.
Alley, who died Monday at age 71 after recently being diagnosed with colon cancer, had previously been open about the alleged mutual affection between herself and Travolta, 68, which began in the late '80s around the time they starred in 1989's Look Who's Talking.
The two would go on to appear together in two sequels, released in 1990 and 1993, while Travolta married Preston in 1991. Alley was married to Parker Stevenson at the time the films were made; the two tied the knot in 1983, but later divorced in 1997. Travolta and Preston, meanwhile, were married until Preston died of breast cancer in 2020 at age 57.
Back in 2018, Alley admitted that she continued flirting with Travolta even after he married Preston — that is, until Preston herself put an end to it.
"Kelly came up to me, and they were married then, and she said, 'Erm, why are you flirting with my husband?' " the Cheers alum said on the Dan Wootton Interview podcast. "And that was sort of when I had to make a decision and that was pretty much the end of that."
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Jim Smeal/Ron Galella collection/getty Kirstie Alley and John Travolta in 1989
RELATED: Kirstie Alley Says She "Almost Ran Off and Married" John Travolta: "I Still Love Him"
Alley previously told Howard Stern in 2013 that she never felt about anyone the way she felt about Travolta, alleging the feelings were mutual.
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"It took me years to not look at John as a romantic interest," she said, adding that he was "the greatest love of my life."
The It Takes Two actress also revealed to Stern, 68, that Preston would not hesitate to "bust" her when she would flirt with Travolta. "She would be, like, 'Are you flirting with my husband?' And the answer was, 'Yes,' " Alley recalled.
Kevin Winter/Getty Kirstie Alley, John Travolta and Kelly Preston in 2007
In the end, Alley was glad she and Travolta never acted on anything romantic between them. "John and I would have devoured each other because John and I are so alike," she said on the Dan Wootton Interview podcast. "It would be like two blazing stars that just fizzled out."
Alley ultimately became a close friend of both fellow Scientologists Travolta and Preston. She was even present at the hospital during the birth of the couple's now-12-year-old son Ben, and joined Preston for an anti-drug campaign back in 2005.
Months before her death, Preston celebrated her 57th birthday in October 2019, sharing a photo of herself on a yacht with her husband, their daughter Ella Bleu Travolta and some of their closest friends, including Alley.
In the statement announcing Alley's death Monday, her children Lillie, 28, and True, 30, began, "We are sad to inform you that our incredible, fierce and loving mother has passed away after a battle with cancer, only recently discovered." A rep for the actress told PEOPLE that she had colon cancer prior to her death.
Her kids continued, in part, "She was surrounded by her closest family and fought with great strength, leaving us with a certainty of her never-ending joy of living and whatever adventures lie ahead. As iconic as she was on screen, she was an even more amazing mother and grandmother."
Reacting to the loss, Travolta shared a throwback photo of Alley and added another of them smiling at one another. He wrote, "Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I've ever had. I love you Kirstie. I know we will see each other again."
