John Travolta's 4-minute Mother's Day tribute to late wife Kelly Preston is beautiful yet heartbreaking

John Travolta paid an extra special tribute to his late wife, Kelly Preston, on Mother's Day this year with a 4.5-minute video montage of photographs. The 68-year-old actor celebrated the annual holiday on Sunday by sharing the video—set to the heart-wrenching tune of Barbra Streisand's song "That Face"—on Instagram with the caption: "We love and miss you, Kelly. Happy Mother's Day." Preston passed away on July 12, 2020, after a battle with breast cancer at the age of 57. In the years following her death, Travolta and their children have honored her on social media on various occasions.

The four-minute clip begins with a black-and-white photo of the "Grease" star that featured the words "From me to you" splashed across the screen before dozens of pictures appear, including several that feature the couple with their children, Ella (22), Benjamin (11), and Jett, who died in 2009 at the age of 16. Travolta and Preston were married for 28 years after tying the knot in 1991. "It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer," Travolta wrote on Instagram in 2020 to announce the news of his beloved wife's death. "She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many."

In the time since her death, Travolta has been open about how he has mourned her and how he handled the subject of death with his youngest child, Benjamin. "Mourning is individual and experiencing your own journey is what can lead to healing," he told Esquire Spain last year. "The most important thing you can do to help another when they are in mourning is to allow them to live it and not complicate it with yours."

According to Good Morning America, during a 2021 appearance on Kevin Hart's talk show, "Hart to Heart," the "Hairspray" actor shared the wise words he offered Benjamin following Preston's death. "He said to me once, 'Because mom passed away, I'm afraid you're going to,'" Travolta recalled about his son. "I said, 'Well, it's a very different thing.' And I went through the differences about my longevity and her limited life." The two-time Oscar nominee said he then got real with his youngest, telling him: "You know, Ben, you always love the truth, and I'm gonna tell you the truth about life. Nobody knows when they're gonna go or when they're gonna stay... your brother 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. I mean, anybody can," he continued. "So let's look at life... it's part of life, you see? You don't know exactly. You just do your best at trying to live the longest you can." The couple's daughter, Ella, also celebrated her late mother in a heartfelt Instagram post. "I've learned a lot from all of the strong and powerful women in my life, I thank you all for being such wonderful role models," she wrote next to a throwback photo of her and Preston riding the Dumbo ride. “I miss and love you, mama. Happy Mothers to all of the wonderful moms out there!"