Getty Kirstie Alley was in love with John Travolta when he was married to Kelly Preston.
“Dancing with the Stars” fans are reacting to the death of Kirstie Alley. The “Cheers” star, who competed on the 12th season of the ABC celebrity ballroom competition in 2011, died on December 5, 2022 following a short battle with colon cancer, according to People. Alley was 71.
Alley was married twice, to Bob Alley in the early 1970s and to actor Parker Stevenson from 1983 to 1997. During her latter marriage, Alley adopted kids True and Lillie, according to Us Weekly.
Alley was also known for her close relationship with John Travolta, he co-star in the popular “Look Who’s Talking” trio of movies in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. And more than once, she revealed that she had more than friendly feelings for her co-star.
Kirstie Alley Had an Emotional Affair With John Travolta When they Were Both Married to Other People
GettyKirstie Alley and John Travolta.
When Alley first worked with Travolta in the 1989 “Look Who’s Talking” movie, the two had more in common than their movie. Both stars were devout Scientologists.
When Alley first met Travolta, he was in a relationship with Kelly Preston. And while Alley was married to Stevenson at the time, she could not deny her attraction to the “Grease” star. She once told ABC News of Travolta, “He is sort of the love of my life.”
According to Us Weekly, while speaking with Barbara Walters for a “20/20” interview in 2012, Alley described Travolta as “the greatest love of my life” — and revealed she wanted to be his wife.
“It took everything I had inside, outside, whatever, to not run off and marry John and be with John for the rest of my life,” she told Walters.
When she was a contestant on “Celebrity Big Brother” in 2018, Alley revealed to her housemates that she once kissed Travolta off-camera. “I did love him and still love him,” she said. “And if I hadn’t been married I would have gone and married him.”
In a 2018 interview with “The Dan Wooten” podcast, Alley reiterated that she was “madly in love” with Travolta and that she nudged him to marry Preston because she knew she wasn’t going to ever leave Stevenson for him.
“John would agree it was mutual that we sort of fell in love with each other,” Alley said. “I will say it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, the hardest decision I’ve ever made because I was madly in love with him. We were fun and funny together.”
Alley added that it was never a sexual relationship because she was “not going to cheat” on her then-husband, Stevenson. “But I think there are things that are way worse than sexual relationships, than cheating on someone that way,” she added. “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.”
Alley admitted that even after Travolta wed Preston in 1991, she continued to flirt with him – and his new wife actually called her out for openly flirting with her husband, so she put an end to it. The trio remained the best of friends, and Alley admitted that it was for the best to keep things platonic.
“John and I would have devoured each other,” she said on the podcast. “It would be like two blazing stars that just fizzled out. …It would have been a disaster.”
John Travolta Shared a Poignant Tribute to Kirstie Alley Following Her Death
Hours after Alley’s death was announced, Travolta posted a tribute to her on Instagram. The actor shared a solo photo of his longtime best friend as well as a photo from their “Look Who’s Talking” days.
“Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had,” Travolta captioned the post. “I love you Kirstie. I know we will see each other again.”
Alley’s death was the latest heartbreak for Travolta, who lost several past loves to cancer. His wife, Preston, died in 2020 from breast cancer at age 57. Preston’s death came 43 years after Travolta lost one of his earliest loves, actress Diana Hyland, from the same type of cancer.
In addition, his close friend and “Grease” co-star, Olivia Newton-John, died in August 2022 following a 30-year battle with breast cancer.
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