John Travolta’s views on mortality changed after a profound conversation with his 10-year-old son Benjamin.
The ‘Saturday Night Fever’ legend’s youngest son told his father that he was afraid that the 67-year-old actor is going to die after his mom, the late Kelly Preston, died at the age of 57 from breast cancer last year.
And John, whose son Jett tragically died when he was just 16, explained that everyone has to leave the world one day and that he should look at death as a part of life.
Retelling their heart to heart to Kevin Hart on his Peacock talk show ‘Hart to Heart’, he began: “[Ben] said to me once, ‘Because mom passed away, I’m afraid you’re going to.’
“I said, ‘Well, it’s a very different thing.’ And I went through the differences about my longevity and her limited life.
“I said, ‘But you know, Ben … you always love the truth and I’m going to tell you the truth about life. Nobody knows when they’re gonna go or when they’re going to stay. Your brother [Jett] 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 it like it’s part of life. You don’t know exactly. You just do your best at trying to live the longest you can.’”
Ben then asked his dad if he sees himself still being alive in three decades’ time and admitted that by the end of their conversation his whole “viewpoint” on getting older changed.
The ‘Grease’ star – who also has Ella, 21, with Kelly – continued: “I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Does 30 years ago seem like a long time?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Don’t you think you have 30 more years in your life to live?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I do. I have at least 30 more years.’ He said, ‘What’s wrong with that?’ This is a 10-year-old telling me that! It changed my viewpoint.”