John Travolta Reveals Young Son Ben Has Been 'Beautiful Kind of Glue' to Rebond Family After Son Jett's Death
John Travolta faced every parent's worst nightmare when his 16-year-old son, Jett, died unexpectedly in 2009.
But five years ago another little boy joined the family, helping him, wife Kelly Preston and 16-year-old daughter Ella Bleu grow close again.
"Certainly having little Ben has been a beautiful kind of glue for us to rebond after tremendous loss," the 62-year-old actor said in an interview with Good Morning America while opening up about Jett, who died after he hit his head in a bathtub during a seizure while the family as on vacation in the Bahamas.
Ben was born after the couple tried for three years to conceive. "He's given the house a renewed spirit and purpose," Travolta said of the new addition for a PEOPLE cover story in 2011.
The Travoltas have all recently taken over Cincinnati for the shooting of The Life and Death of John Gotti, where Travolta plays the Italian-American gangster and Preston plays his wife, Victoria.
The actor says he was drawn to the role because it showed the more sensitive side of the notorious mafia boss.
"There's always two sides to a story," he said. "They had a very human other side of existence which is their family and their trials and tribulations."
Preston agrees, saying that Gotti was a different man to the world than he was to his loved ones.
"She knew what was going on, but she said when he would come home, the door would close and that life would end," Preston, 53, explained.
