"The most important thing you can do to help people going through grief is allow them the space to live it and not complicate their journey with your own," he said.
It's been two years since Kelly Preston's demise and John Travolta, her husband, is still trying to cope with the loss. Just last year, Travolta opened up about what it's been like living in a world without his late wife.
"I learned that mourning someone, living in grief, is very personal," the actor told Esquire. Grief is personal and finding your path is what could lead to healing. It's different than someone else's journey," he added according to PEOPLE. "The most important thing you can do to help people going through grief is to allow them the space to live it and not complicate their journey with your own."
That's why Travolta stepped away from the limelight and chose to mourn his partner's death in private with his daughter Ella, 21, and son Ben, 10. Preston passed away on July 12, 2020, after a two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 57.
Through the heartbreaking experience, he understood that it's best to mourn alone. "Like, imagine if you lose someone and you're very sad at the funeral, and another person comes up to you who is feeling even sadder and then doesn't leave space for you to feel your grief," shared the Pulp Fiction actor.
"It becomes two ships plummeting to the bottom together. That's my experience. Because, although it's nice to have company, sometimes it turns you into someone helping the other person instead of putting in the work of overcoming the sense of loss and grief."
The 67-year-old father revealed how many people tried to comfort him after Preston's death but unfortunately, it didn't help. "You don’t know how many people approached me…and them I felt saturated with everyone’s sadness that I didn’t know what to do," continued Travolta, who noted that the first thing that one should do when experiencing loss is "go to a place where you can mourn without any interference."
"If I die tomorrow, the last thing I want to see is everyone around me sinking," he said according to ET Online. Travolta, who lost his 16-year-old son Jett in 2009, shared an emotional tribute for his wife following her death. "It is with a weighty heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer. She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many," read the post.
"I will be taking some time to be there for my children who have lost their mother, so forgive me in advance if you don't hear from us for a while. But please know that I will feel your outpouring of love in the weeks and months ahead as we heal," it concluded.
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