John Travolta Paid Tribute To Kirstie Alley, Who Called Him “The Greatest Love of My Life”

Audiences across the country were immediately drawn in by the chemistry shared between John Travolta and Kirstie Alley in 1989’s Look Who’s Talking. Upon Alley’s death in 2022 from colon cancer, Travolta paid heartfelt tribute not just to a former co-star but to a friend who once referred to him as “the greatest love of my life.”

In 2018, during her time on Celebrity Big Brother U.K., Alley opened up about the feelings of affection she had for Travolta, to the point she even “almost ran off and married.” These feelings sparked to life when the two were filming Look Who’s Talking. But how did Travolta feel about her?

Look who’s talking about the feelings that blossomed during the filming process

Travolta played James Ubriacco opposite Alley’s Mollie Jensen, and just as the two characters fell in love on screen, Alley found herself developing feelings for Travolta.

“I did love him,” she admitted in 2018, “I still love him. If I hadn’t been married, I would’ve gone and married him and I would’ve been in an airplane because he has his own plane.” Alley was married twice, first to Bob Alley from ’77 to ’79, then to Parker Stevenson from ’83 to ’97. Preston, meanwhile, was married to Kelly Preston from 1991 until her death in 2020.

Speaking with Howard Stern in 2013, Alley also admitted that the feeling she harbored for the Grease star would never be matched by any other. “It took me years to not look at John as a romantic interest,” said Alley, calling Travolta “the greatest love of my life” and claiming that the feelings were mutual—but never acted upon.

Keeping those passions unrealized was “one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” said Alley. “[It was] the hardest decision I’ve ever made because I was madly in love with him — we were fun and funny together,” she added. “It wasn’t a sexual relationship because I’m not going to cheat on my husband. But, you know, I think there are things that are way worse than sexual relationships, than cheating on someone that way. I consider what I did even worse because I actually let myself fall in love with him and stay in love with him for a long time.”

John Travolta paid heartfelt tribute to Kirstie Alley

A jolt back to reality came after Alley continued to flirt with Travolta, eventually prompting Preston to approach her and ask, “Erm, why are you flirting with my husband?” This, the Cheers alum said, meant “And that was sort of when I had to make a decision and that was pretty much the end of that.”

Ultimately, Alley would not only respect this gesture but fully support Travolta ending up with Preston. “John and I would have devoured each other,” she explained, “because John and I are so alike. It would be like two blazing stars that just fizzled out.”

Even so, the unique bond the two formed endured, so when Alley passed at the age of 71, two years after Travolta’s wife died from breast cancer, the Saturday Night Fever icon felt compelled to offer an emotional, poignant tribute in her honor.

Following news of Alley’s passing, Travolta took a photo of Alley and shared a picture of the two of them together on Instagram. “Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had,” he shared in the post’s captions. “I love you Kirstie. I know we will see each other again.”